Optics and Photonics News · 2002 · 215 citations · 0 references
EngineeringCommunicationPhysicsOpticsOptoelectronicsPhotonicsAtmospheric OpticsFree-space OpticsFree-space PropagationLaser OpticsOptical Communication SystemsOptical ModulationFree-space Optical CommunicationIntensity-modulated Beam ArrangementOptical Communication LinksOptical Transmission SystemsOptical TransmittersTelecommunication Infrastructure
Free space optics (FSO) communication involves the use of modulated optical or laser beams to send telecommunication information through the atmosphere. The concept of FSO light communication is not new: in his photophone patent of 1880, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated use of an intensity-modulated optical beam (sunlight) to transmit telephone signals 200 m through the air to a distant receiver.