Quasi-Passive Indoor Optical Wireless Communication Systems

Abstract

Optical wireless communications (OWCs) have been widely studied to provide high-speed wireless services in indoor environments, and the combination of beam steering with localization has been explored to extend the coverage area and to provide user mobility. However, beam steering typically consumes continuous power, even when the user is stationary. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a quasi-passive indoor OWC system with zero power consumption when the user is stationary or quasi-stationary. It also supports the generation of multiple signal beams for multi-user access. 10 Gb/s transmission is demonstrated and users at different locations are served simultaneously. Experimental results show that no power penalty is observed compared to traditional systems consuming continuous power. The proposed quasi-passive system provides a multi-user access and low-power consumption solution for indoor applications.