While Electro-Optic (E-O) sampling has achived the electric signal measurement with advantages of noninvasive, noncontact and ultrafast time resolution, it is unsuitable for measuring long logic patterns in fast ICs under the functional test conditions. To overcome this problem, a real time E-O probing using a continuous wave (CW) diode laser and a fast photodetector has been developed. By adopting a ZnTe E-O probe having a half-wave voltage of 3.6 kV, shot noise limited measurement with a frequency bandwidth of 480 MHz has been achieved using a low noise diode laser (wavelength of 780 nm, output power of 30 mW), a pin photodiode, a wideband low noise amplifier, and a digital oscilloscope having 500 MHz bandwidth as a waveform analyzer. The minimum detectable voltage was 23 mV under 700 times integration. In this paper, discussion of the voltage sensitivity of real time E-O probing is included. Key parameters for attaining the highly sensitive real time E-O probing are the sensitivity of the E-O probe and noises of the probing light and detection system.

The characteristics of 155 Mbps optical propagation through atmosphere at the wavelengths of 0.78 and 1.55 m over a 72 m range were measured. Two propagation characteristics were compared to examine the wavelength dependence on the rain rate and the aperture size of a receiver. An enhanced intensity exceeding the signal level measured in the absence of rain was observed at both wavelengths during 7.2 mm/h rain. The resultant bit error rate is shown to be dominated mainly by the rain-induced scintillation rather than the attenuation.

We measured the optical propagation characteristics during rainfall over a 72-m propagation distance at the wavelengths of 0.78, 1.55, and 2.0 µm. In addition to the common attenuations, we observed sudden drops (dips) in the received optical power, which affect communication errors. The temporal interval of most dips is approximately 1 ms.

Radio frequency on free-space optical (RoFSO) technology is regarded as a new universal platform for enabling seamless convergence of fiber and FSO communication networks, thus extending broadband connectivity to underserved areas. In this paper, we investigate the performance to characterize the transmission of code division multiple access (CDMA) based wireless signals over RoFSO system using aperture averaging (AA) technique under strong turbulence conditions. An analytical model including a modified carrier-to-noise-plus- interference ratio (CNIR) form and a novel closed-form expression for the bit-error rate (BER) is derived. Unlike earlier work, our model takes into consideration the effect of using the AA technique modeled by the gamma-gamma distribution, the optical noises, the intermodulation distortion term due to the laser diode non-linearity and the multiple interference access. By investigating the impact of AA on our model in the strong turbulence regime, we show that there is a design trade-off between the receiver lens aperture and the number of users to achieve a required CNIR ensuring a substantial scintillation fade reduction. The presented work can be used as baseline for the design and performance evaluation of the RoFSO system's ability to transmit different broadband wireless services signals over turbulent FSO links in real scenarios.

With the increase of communication demand and the emergence of new services, various innovative wireless technologies have been deployed recently. Free Space Optics (FSO) links combined with Radio over Fiber (RoF) technology can realize a cost-effective heterogeneous wireless access system for both urban and rural areas. In this paper, we introduce a newly developed advanced DWDM Radio-on-FSO (RoFSO) system capable of simultaneously transmitting multiple Radio Frequency (RF) signals carrying various wireless services including W-CDMA, WLAN IEEE802.11g and ISDB-T signals over FSO link. We present an experimental performance evaluation of transmitting RF signals using the RoFSO system over a 1 km link under different deployment environment conditions. This work represents a pioneering attempt, based on a realistic operational scenario, aiming at demonstrating the RoFSO system can be conveniently used as a reliable alternative broadband wireless technology for complementing optical fiber networks in areas where the deployment of optical fiber is not feasible.

Free-space optical communication systems can provide high-speed, improved capacity, cost effective and easy to deploy wireless networks. Experimental investigation on the next generation free-space optical (FSO) communication system utilizing seamless connection of free-space and optical fiber links is presented. A compact antenna which utilizes a miniature fine positioning mirror (FPM) for high-speed beam control and steering is described. The effect of atmospheric turbulence on the beam angle-of-arrival (AOA) fluctuations is shown. The FPM is able to mitigate the power fluctuations at the fiber coupling port caused by this beam angle-of-arrival fluctuations. Experimental results of the FSO system capable of offering stable performance in terms of measured bit-error-rate (BER) showing error free transmission at 2.5 Gbps over extended period of time and improved fiber received power are presented. Also presented are performance results showing stable operation when increasing the FSO communication system data rate from 2.5 Gbps to 10 Gbps as well as WDM experiments.