Wireless optical communications: A survey

The demand for wireless broadband communications has been growing steadily for last several years. The congestion and the limitations on bandwidths of the radio spectrum have inhibited unrestricted growth of radio wireless systems. Wireless optical, however, holds the promise of delivering data rates that can meet the broadband requirements. As a result, wireless optical is believed to be a viable long term option for many applications of wireless communications. Nevertheless, the advantages of optical wireless have not yet been fully exploited. Basic and applied research is needed at the laboratory and commercial levels to bring the performance of real-life wireless optical systems into higher levels. The Gb/s level data rate has been validated in laboratory, however, available indoor systems only realize a data rate of 155Mb/s. Current research in wireless optical concentrates on increasing the communication capacity and improving the performance. In this paper, we survey the wireless optical discipline emphasizing major design, performance, and safety issues. Research directions that have the potential to close the gap between theory and practice, in wireless optical communications, are also presented.