10 Gbit/s OWC System for Intra-Data Centers Links

We design and experimentally demonstrate a 10 Gbit/s optical wireless communication (OWC) system that can be quickly deployed and effectively used in data centers (DCs) networks. It is realized by means of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, it does not need active alignment, and its 8-mm tolerance allows for simple passive alignment. We successfully tested the system from 1.5 to 3 m link distance with a target bit error ratio (BER) of 10
^-9
. This allows the realization of an array of transceivers to further increase the capacity. Finally, the system power consumption (10 pJ/bit) is much lower than its alternatives. These results demonstrate that the proposed OWC system can be a viable solution for future DC networks.