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Ethernet-over-OWC Using VCSELs: Transparent Gigabit Links with Low Latency and Robust Alignment Tolerance

Hossein Safi, Isaac N. O. Osahon, Iman Tavakkolnia, Harald Haas

TL;DR

This work tackles the need for a low-latency, high-throughput wireless Ethernet bridge by demonstrating a fully transparent Ethernet-over-OWC link over a 1 m free-space path using a 980-nm VCSEL and off-the-shelf, unamplified front ends. The authors implement a true bidirectional Ethernet bridge with standard Ethernet hardware and SFP modules, achieving throughput exceeding 900 Mb/s, end-to-end latency below 25 ns, and robust centimeter-scale alignment tolerance. The results show an optical link with negligible distortion at 1 Gb/s and a BER around 1e-13 at optimal alignment, validating the practicality of plug-and-play wireless Ethernet. This approach offers a simple, low-latency wireless extension of wired Ethernet suitable for settings like smart factories, data centers, and automotive systems, contributing a new benchmark for practical OWC deployment.

Abstract

We demonstrate a fully bidirectional 1 Gbs Ethernet over OWC link over a 1m free space path using a VCSEL-PIN pair and only commercially available components. The unamplified, transparent system achieves error-free operation, with a latency of less than 25 ns, and a centimetre-scale alignment tolerance.

Ethernet-over-OWC Using VCSELs: Transparent Gigabit Links with Low Latency and Robust Alignment Tolerance

TL;DR

This work tackles the need for a low-latency, high-throughput wireless Ethernet bridge by demonstrating a fully transparent Ethernet-over-OWC link over a 1 m free-space path using a 980-nm VCSEL and off-the-shelf, unamplified front ends. The authors implement a true bidirectional Ethernet bridge with standard Ethernet hardware and SFP modules, achieving throughput exceeding 900 Mb/s, end-to-end latency below 25 ns, and robust centimeter-scale alignment tolerance. The results show an optical link with negligible distortion at 1 Gb/s and a BER around 1e-13 at optimal alignment, validating the practicality of plug-and-play wireless Ethernet. This approach offers a simple, low-latency wireless extension of wired Ethernet suitable for settings like smart factories, data centers, and automotive systems, contributing a new benchmark for practical OWC deployment.

Abstract

We demonstrate a fully bidirectional 1 Gbs Ethernet over OWC link over a 1m free space path using a VCSEL-PIN pair and only commercially available components. The unamplified, transparent system achieves error-free operation, with a latency of less than 25 ns, and a centimetre-scale alignment tolerance.
Paper Structure (7 sections, 3 figures)

This paper contains 7 sections, 3 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Experimental Setup
  3. Results and Discussion
  4. Signal Quality and Throughput Performance
  5. Misalignment Tolerance
  6. Latency
  7. Conclusion

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Schematic of the experimental setup for a bidirectional 1-Gb/s Ethernet-over-OWC link. Standard Ethernet traffic is converted to optical via media converters and SFP modules, modulated by a VCSEL transmitter, transmitted across a 1-m optical wireless channel, and detected by a PIN photodiode before being reconverted to Ethernet. The reverse path implements full-duplex operation.
  • Figure 2: Photographs of the experimental Ethernet-over-OWC link setup corresponding to Fig. \ref{['Schematic']}. (a) Optical setup showing the Tx and Rx optical subsystems. (b) Electrical setup comprising the server, media converters, and SFP evaluation boards, collectively implementing a fully transparent bidirectional Ethernet bridge.
  • Figure 3: (a) Measured eye diagram and (b) Q-factor performance of the Ethernet-over-OWC link.