Experiment on space and time division multiple access scheme over free space optical communication

Developments in outdoor free space optical (FSO) communication between buildings using rooftop mounted units are limited by Point-to-Point wireless links. We propose a space and time division multiple access scheme to perform Point-to-Multi-Point communication employing reflectors. A single reflector controlled by a stepping motor and an array of fixed reflectors are used. The reflection characteristics of the reflector are measured. The relationship characteristics between the static angle error of the stepping motor, the beam fluctuation, and the communication distance are demonstrated. The received optical powers are compared on using one or two reflectors while considering the angle of incidence at the surface of the reflector. Moreover, the received power, the bit error rate and the throughput of the experiment system are measured. In addition, the throughput characteristics of the proposal scheme are made clear by experiments. The result of the experiment shows that the new scheme can provide a low-cost and efficient method for Point-to-Multi-Point FSO communication¹.