#FREESPACE OPTICAL SERIES#

#FREESPACE OPTICAL SERIES#

Fig 2: The Canobeam DT-100 family comprises a series of general similar FSO units in identical enclosures, each with slightly different performance capabilities. A DT-100 for one node (you’ll need two) costs between $20,000 and $50,000. Q: What’s an overview of this Canobeam family?Ī: The first unit, the Canobeam 1, was introduced in 1993 and then expanded to become the broader Canobeam DT-100 family with faster systems, smaller ones, and ones with additional user-side interfaces and system features (Figure 2). We’ll look at the Canon Canobeam family due to its popularity, longer history, spread of models and features. Further, testing such a system is a significant task.Ī: FSO link systems are available from over a dozen manufacturers, with some broad-application models and others more tightly focused on application niches. Given the speed at which it operates, and its electronic and optical nature, everything has to be electrically, mechanically, and optically precise, stable, and consistent. (Image: Macom)Ī: An FSO link is a complicated integration of electronics, electro-optical components, lenses, mechanical design, and more. Fig 1: This InGaAs PIN photodetector is well-suited for FSO link receivers, as it handles multiple wavelengths. The detector is mounted in a compact 8-pin butterfly-style package. All the parts are standard off-the-shelf components such as the P-70A ultrafast, InGaAs PIN photodetector from MACOM (Figure 1.) This proprietary, back-illuminated semiconductor diode design optimizes speed, sensitivity, and low polarization dependence for both 1310 nm and 1550 nm wavelengths.

This part looks at a family of commercially available FSO systems.Ī: Yes and no. The previous part of this article looked at real-world issues that make a practical FSO link a design challenge. Free-space optical links provide a reliable, cost-effective, and quick way to link two fixed communication nodes located a few kilometers apart.

Freespace optical