F.R. Gfeller

Bio: F.R. Gfeller is an academic researcher from IBM. The author has contributed to research in topics: Optical Carrier transmission rates & Free-space optical communication. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 1004 citations.

Wireless in-house data communication via diffuse infrared radiation

Abstract: A novel wireless broadcast/multi-access channel is described for flexibly interconnecting a cluster of data terminals located within the same room. The transmission medium is diffusively scattered infrared radiation at 950-nm wavelength. Transmission is low-to-medium speed and the range up to 50 m. Theoretical analysis indicates that the time dispersion limits the transmission bandwidth of the system to 260 Mbit ċ m/s, but background noise produced by ambient daylight reduces the transmission speed below 1 Mbit/s. The transmission properties of the diffuse optical channel are analyzed, and experimental digital links for baseband PCM at 125 kbit/s and PSK 64 kbit/s are demonstrated.

Wireless Infrared Communications

Abstract: The use of infrared radiation as a medium for high-speed short-range wireless digital communication is discussed. Available infrared links and local-area networks are described. Advantages and drawbacks of the infrared medium are compared to those of radio and microwave media. The physical characteristics of infrared channels using intensity modulation with direct detection (IM/DD) are presented including path losses and multipath responses. Natural and artificial ambient infrared noise sources are characterized. Strategies for designs of transmitter and receivers that maximize link signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are described. Several modification formats are discussed in detail, including on-off keying (OOK) pulse-position modulation (PPM), and subcarrier modulation. The performance of these techniques in the presence of multipath distortion is quantified. Techniques for multiplexing the transmissions of different users are reviewed. The performance of an experimental 50-Mb/s on-off-keyed diffuse infrared link is described.

Fundamental analysis for visible-light communication system using LED lights

Abstract: White LED offers advantageous properties such as high brightness, reliability, lower power consumption and long lifetime. White LEDs are expected to serve in the next generation of lamps. An indoor visible-light communication system utilizing white LED lights has been proposed from our laboratory. In the proposed system, these devices are used not only for illuminating rooms but also for an optical wireless communication system. Generally, plural lights are installed in our room. So, their optical path difference must be considered. In this paper, we discuss about the influence of interference and reflection. Based on numerical analyses, we show that the system is expected to be the indoor communication of the next generation.

Survey on Free Space Optical Communication: A Communication Theory Perspective

Abstract: Optical wireless communication (OWC) refers to transmission in unguided propagation media through the use of optical carriers, i.e., visible, infrared (IR), and ultraviolet (UV) bands. In this survey, we focus on outdoor terrestrial OWC links which operate in near IR band. These are widely referred to as free space optical (FSO) communication in the literature. FSO systems are used for high rate communication between two fixed points over distances up to several kilometers. In comparison to radio-frequency (RF) counterparts, FSO links have a very high optical bandwidth available, allowing much higher data rates. They are appealing for a wide range of applications such as metropolitan area network (MAN) extension, local area network (LAN)-to-LAN connectivity, fiber back-up, backhaul for wireless cellular networks, disaster recovery, high definition TV and medical image/video transmission, wireless video surveillance/monitoring, and quantum key distribution among others. Despite the major advantages of FSO technology and variety of its application areas, its widespread use has been hampered by its rather disappointing link reliability particularly in long ranges due to atmospheric turbulence-induced fading and sensitivity to weather conditions. In the last five years or so, there has been a surge of interest in FSO research to address these major technical challenges. Several innovative physical layer concepts, originally introduced in the context of RF systems, such as multiple-input multiple-output communication, cooperative diversity, and adaptive transmission have been recently explored for the design of next generation FSO systems. In this paper, we present an up-to-date survey on FSO communication systems. The first part describes FSO channel models and transmitter/receiver structures. In the second part, we provide details on information theoretical limits of FSO channels and algorithmic-level system design research activities to approach these limits. Specific topics include advances in modulation, channel coding, spatial/cooperative diversity techniques, adaptive transmission, and hybrid RF/FSO systems.

Spatial Modulation for Generalized MIMO: Challenges, Opportunities, and Implementation

Abstract: A key challenge of future mobile communication research is to strike an attractive compromise between wireless network's area spectral efficiency and energy efficiency. This necessitates a clean-slate approach to wireless system design, embracing the rich body of existing knowledge, especially on multiple-input-multiple-ouput (MIMO) technologies. This motivates the proposal of an emerging wireless communications concept conceived for single-radio-frequency (RF) large-scale MIMO communications, which is termed as SM. The concept of SM has established itself as a beneficial transmission paradigm, subsuming numerous members of the MIMO system family. The research of SM has reached sufficient maturity to motivate its comparison to state-of-the-art MIMO communications, as well as to inspire its application to other emerging wireless systems such as relay-aided, cooperative, small-cell, optical wireless, and power-efficient communications. Furthermore, it has received sufficient research attention to be implemented in testbeds, and it holds the promise of stimulating further vigorous interdisciplinary research in the years to come. This tutorial paper is intended to offer a comprehensive state-of-the-art survey on SM-MIMO research, to provide a critical appraisal of its potential advantages, and to promote the discussion of its beneficial application areas and their research challenges leading to the analysis of the technological issues associated with the implementation of SM-MIMO. The paper is concluded with the description of the world's first experimental activities in this vibrant research field.

Optical Communication in Space: Challenges and Mitigation Techniques

Abstract: In recent years, free space optical (FSO) communication has gained significant importance owing to its unique features: large bandwidth, license free spectrum, high data rate, easy and quick deployability, less power, and low mass requirements. FSO communication uses optical carrier in the near infrared band to establish either terrestrial links within the Earth’s atmosphere or inter-satellite/deep space links or ground-to-satellite/satellite-to-ground links. It also finds its applications in remote sensing, radio astronomy, military, disaster recovery, last mile access, backhaul for wireless cellular networks, and many more. However, despite of great potential of FSO communication, its performance is limited by the adverse effects (viz., absorption, scattering, and turbulence) of the atmospheric channel. Out of these three effects, the atmospheric turbulence is a major challenge that may lead to serious degradation in the bit error rate performance of the system and make the communication link infeasible. This paper presents a comprehensive survey on various challenges faced by FSO communication system for ground-to-satellite/satellite-to-ground and inter-satellite links. It also provides details of various performance mitigation techniques in order to have high link availability and reliability. The first part of this paper will focus on various types of impairments that pose a serious challenge to the performance of optical communication system for ground-to-satellite/satellite-to-ground and inter-satellite links. The latter part of this paper will provide the reader with an exhaustive review of various techniques both at physical layer as well as at the other layers (link, network, or transport layer) to combat the adverse effects of the atmosphere. It also uniquely presents a recently developed technique using orbital angular momentum for utilizing the high capacity advantage of optical carrier in case of space-based and near-Earth optical communication links. This survey provides the reader with comprehensive details on the use of space-based optical backhaul links in order to provide high capacity and low cost backhaul solutions.