The infrared physical layer of the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks

Author

Valadas, Rui T. ; Tavares, António R. ; Duarte, A.M.deO. ; Moreira, Adriano C. ; Lomba, Cipriano T.

Author_Institution

Aveiro Univ., Portugal

Volume

36

Issue

12

fYear

1998

fDate

12/1/1998 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

107

Lastpage

112

Abstract

The new IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks defines a specification for an infrared physical layer. This article gives an overview of infrared technology and describes the IEEE 802.11 specification in detail, presenting a historical perspective of its development. The infrared physical layer was designed for diffuse systems supporting two data rates (1 and 2 Mb/s) and includes provisions for a smooth migration to higher data rates. The specification is suitable for low-cost transceivers but allows interoperability with higher-performance systems. The main application envisaged for IEEE 802.11 infrared wireless local area networks is ad hoc networks

Keywords

IEEE standards; access protocols; carrier sense multiple access; open systems; optical receivers; telecommunication standards; transceivers; wireless LAN; 1 Mbit/s; 2 Mbit/s; CSMA/CD; IEEE 802.11 standard; ad hoc networks; data rates; diffuse systems; infrared physical layer specification; infrared technology; interoperability; low-cost transceivers; receiver sensitivity; wireless local area networks; Ad hoc networks; Application software; Cables; Educational institutions; Ethernet networks; Microcomputers; Physical layer; Spread spectrum communication; Telecommunication standards; Transceivers; Wireless LAN;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Communications Magazine, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0163-6804

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/35.735887

Filename

735887