Challenges in Gbps Wireless Optical Transmission

In this paper, the link budget of Gbps wireless infrared indoor communication is analysed. We particularly focus on the receiver sensitivity and identify the most suitable wavelengths range. We show that an optical receiver operating at 1 Gbps will hardly achieve the shot noise limit, which is determined by the received amount of background light. Regarding the link budget, we present two case studies. One deals with (very) short range communication, the other one with a wireless personal area network. We reveal that a network demands for avalanche photodiodes as well as beam steering. This clearly causes major challenges regarding compact and inexpensive components.