ABSTRACT

This paper illustrates the concept of free space optical communication in order
to fabricate physical connections between two systems which have a line of
sight arrangement, using serial communication for transfer of data. MAXIM
Corporation’s IC MAX 232 is used, it needs only a single power supply of 5V
(for TTL to RS-232 and vice-versa) level conversion and then an optical
transmitter circuit is used to transmit data via fiber optic cable. There is a
combination of laser and photodiode for transmitting and receiving the data
respectively. We point the laser beam of transmitting module to fall on the
photodiode of the receiving module connected to the other PC and vice-versa.
The whole set up is kept in a dark box preferably black in color to avoid any
reflection. The communication over the short distance of 2-3 m is possible using
IR diodes. The range could be increased up to few meters, using the laser diode
module in place of IR LEDs. The only need for fiber optic communication is felt
because it is cheaper and corresponds to fewer losses.

Keywords: free space optical communication (FSO), laser, serial

communication, photodiode.

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

For several years the use of laser light has been merely for piping light around
the dark corners or inaccessible places to allow the hidden objects to be seen,
but now laser has evolved its use and its advantage in comparison to
conventional coaxial cable or twisted wire pairs is manifold. It has evolved its
use in field of telecommunication, by carrying information over larger
distances. The laser light has less transmission losses and is not susceptible to
electromagnetic interference. It is highly focused and due to its focusing nature
it has various applications in the field of surgery. Today, lasers have become one
of the world’s most efficient technologies and have found its use in industries
ranging from information technology to telecommunications, medicine,
consumer electronics, law enforcement, military equipment, entertainment and
manufacturing. Furthermore the free space optical communication involves use
of infrared laser light or LED. LED is used mainly for low data rate
communication over short distance. The Infrared Data Association (IrDA)
provides specifications for a complete set of protocols. Main feature of this type
of wireless optical communication is physically securing data transfer, line-of-
sight (LOS) and very low bit error rate (BER) that makes it very efficient.

CHAPTER 2

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 SYSTEM OVERVIEW

2.1. Free Space optical communication

Free space refers to air, vacuum or outer space or an environment of similar
traits. Free space optical communication refers to a form of wireless
communication which involves free space as a propagation medium for light to
propagate. Generally free space optical communication is applied to places
where it is impractical to fabricate physical connections; this can be due to
various reasons such as high cost and labor. FSO is a line-of-sight technology
that uses lasers to provide optical bandwidth connections or FSO is an optical
communication technique that propagate the light in free space means air, outer
space, vacuum, or something similar to wirelessly transmit data for
telecommunication and computer networking currently. FSO is capable of up to
2.5Gbps of data, voice and video communications through the air, allowing
optical connectivity without requiring fiber-optic cable or securing spectrum
licenses.

Figure 2.1: Free space laser communication

There are various advantages of using free space optical communication, such
as:

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1) The arrangement is easy.
2) It is used to power a variety of devices.
3) It has long range of operation in contrast with the radio communication.
4) It has high bit rates and lower bit error rates.
5) It is immune to electromagnetic interference.
6) It has full duplex operation.
There are a few factors which limit its range, such as:
1) Beam dispersion.
2) Atmospheric absorption.
3) Rain.
4) Snow.
5) Interference from background light sources.
6) Pollution.
These factors lead to higher bit error rate because of an attenuated receiver
signal. These factors can be overcome by implementing multi beam or multi
path architectures involving more than on sender and receiver.

2.2. Laser
Laser is an acronym used for Light Amplification by stimulated emission of
radiation. It emits light by the process called optical amplification based on
stimulated emission. Lasers are devices that amplify light and produce coherent
light beams, ranging from infrared to ultraviolet. A light beam is coherent when
its waves, or photons, propagate in step with one another. Laser light, therefore,
can be made extremely intense, highly directional, and very pure in color
(frequency). Laser devices now extend into the X-ray frequency range. Masers
are similar devices for microwaves.

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 Figure 2.2.a): Laser Communication

Laser works on three different mechanisms which are:

1) ABSORPTION: An atom in a lower level absorbs a photon of frequency hν
and moves to an upper level.
2) SPONTANEOUS EMISSION: In this type of emission, an atom in an upper
level can decay spontaneously to the lower level further emitting a photon of
frequency hν if the transition between E2 and E1 is radiative. This photon
consist of random direction and phase.
3) STIMULATED EMISSION: An incident photon forces an upper level atom
to decay, thus emitting a “stimulated” photon whose properties are identical to
those of incident photon.

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 Figure 2.2: Laser Mechanism

It consists of a gain medium which is a mechanism to energize it and provide

optical feedback. For the gain medium, it uses a process called PUMPING to
amplify light.

2.2.1. Laser Pumping

In this, the energy is transferred from an external medium into the gain medium
of a laser. When a system exists in a state with more members in excited state
then in the ground state or lower excited state POPULATION INVERSION
occurs, which is a necessary step in the working of standard laser.
The pumping for population inversion can be achieved by following methods:
1) Optical pumping
2) Electric discharge or excitation by electrons
3) Inelastic atom-atom collision
4) Thermal pumping

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 Figure 2.2.1. a): Three level Laser energy diagram

There are different types of laser used in Optics which are:

1) Solid state laser
2) Gas laser
3) Liquid laser
4) Semiconductor laser
In our project, we have used a Solid-State laser called the Ruby Laser that uses
the synthetic ruby crystal as its laser medium. Ruby laser is amongst the laser
which produce visible deep red light of wavelength 694.3nm. It is a three level
solid state laser which uses optical pumping (light as energy source) technique
to supply energy to the laser medium.

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 Figure 2.2.1.b): Cross section of a Ruby laser

2.3. Serial Communication

MAX232 is an integrated circuit created by MAXIM integrated products in
1987. It converts signals from a RS232 serial port to signals useful in TTL
compatible digital logic circuits. It is a dual transmitter/receiver that typically is
used to convert RX, TX, CTS, and RTS signal. Later MAX232A was introduced
which is backward compatible with original MAX232 but may operate at higher
baud rates. it has two receivers that convert RS-232 to TTL voltage level, and
two drivers that convert from TTL logic to RS-232 voltage levels. Newer
MAX3232 and MAX3232E have been introduced to operate at broader voltage
ranges. RS232 is a serial port used for transmitting the data. Even though serial
port is harder to program than the parallel port, this is the most effective method
in which the data transmission requires less wire that yields to the lesser cost.
The RS-232D exists in two types -

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1) D-TYPE 25 pin connector
2) D-TYPE 9 pin connector, which are male connectors on the back of the PC.
We need a female connector on our communication from Host to Guest.
The advantages of using serial data transfer rather than parallel:-
1) Serial cables are longer than Parallel cables. The serial port transmits a '1' as
-3 to -25 volts and a '0' as +3 to +25 volts whereas a parallel port transmits a '0'
as 0v and a '1' as 5v. Therefore the serial port can have a maximum swing of
50V whereas the parallel port has a maximum swing of 5 Volts. Therefore cable
loss is not going to be as much of a problem for serial cables then it is for
parallel cables.
2) Lesser wires are required in comparison to parallel transmission. If a device
needs to be mounted at a far distance from the computer then 3 core cables
(Null Modem Configuration) is going to be a lot cheaper that running 19 or 25
core cable. However the cost of the interfacing at each end must be taken into
account.
3) Microcontrollers have in built SCI (Serial communication interfaces). Serial
communication reduces the pin count of MPU.

Figure 2.3.a): MAX232

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Transistor-transistor logic (TTL) is a logic built from BJTs and resistors. It
performs the function of logical AND as well as amplification. 7401 IC series is
used. Schmitt trigger is a comparator circuit based on hysteresis implemented
by applying a positive feedback to the non-inverting input of a comparator or
differential amplifier. It is known as a trigger because the output holds the value
till the time input changes sufficiently to trigger a change.

Figure 2.3.b): Hysteresis Curve

In the non-inverting configuration, when the input is higher than a certain

threshold level, the output is high and when the input is below chosen threshold
the output is low, and when the input is between the two levels the output
retains its value. The dual threshold action is called hysteresis, and suggests that
the Schmitt trigger possesses memory and can act as a bistable multivibrator.
Schmitt trigger devices are used to remove noise from signal.

CHAPTER 3

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 COMPONENT DESCRIPTION

3.1. LED
LED stands for light emitting diode, which is a semiconductor light source
having the properties intermediate to the incandescent light bulb and laser. LED
is incoherent source of light as well as divergent. Energy is released in the form
of the photons. The color of the corresponding LED is derived by the
corresponding energy of the photons. The power density of LED being low is
the major reason of not including that in the project. The other factors that
govern the use of LASER over LED are as follows:
1) LED is a non-coherent source of light and further diffraction is common in
LED as compared to the LASERS which are coherent sources.
2) In LEDs a lot of energy is wasted in random constructive and destructive
interference, while LASERS are perfect for targeting the specific areas which
governs the overall working of our project.

Figure 3.1. Infrared LED

3.2. Photodiode

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A photodiode is a simple semi-conductor device, with a p-n junction and an
intrinsic layer between p and n layers used to convert light into current or
voltage. Photo diode has two terminals: anode and cathode.

Figure 3.2.a) Symbol of Photodiode

There are mainly three types of photo diodes

1) PN junction photo diode
2) Avalanche photo diode
3) PIN photo diode
Normally PN junction photo diode is used in low frequency and low sensitive
applications whereas when high frequency of operation and high sensitivity is
needed avalanche photo diode or PIN photo diodes are used.
A photodiode can be operated mainly in two modes
1) Photo conductive mode
2) Photo voltaic mode
The photo diodes used as photo detectors are optimized to have fast response
times whereas the photo diodes used in electrical energy generation are
optimized to have high efficiency of energy conversion. Photo conductive mode
is the mode of operation of photo detectors while the solar cells are operated in
Photo voltaic mode.

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The covalent bonds present in the depletion region are very weak in nature.
When light is incident on the pn junction electron and hole start to form. The
flow of electron and holes create a current.

Figure 3.2.b) P-N Junction Photodiode

CHAPTER 4

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 OPERATION

In this project our main concern is to transmit data serially between two
PCs placed at a distance. This can be achieved easily by fabricating the
following parts-
1) Transformer.
2) Power supply
3) Rectifier
4) PCB
5) Schmitt trigger
6) MAX232
7) RS232
8) Laser
9) Photodiode
The transformer is used to regulate power from 220V supply to 5V or 12V.
Further the power supply circuit has voltage regulator, bridge or center tap
rectifier and capacitor to rectify the ripples. Since we can place the transmitter
and receiver side at a distance we use two transformer and two power supply
circuits. The MAX232 IC is used to convert the logic from RS232 serial port
and transmit it over the PC. The Schmitt trigger is used to smoothen the wave
pattern. The two PC’s can be installed with a software called Docklight which
specializes in handling the RS232 serial port. The baud rate is set to 2400 for
error free transmission and the setup of laser and photodiode always maintains
line of sight.

4.1. Power Supply

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The power supply circuit consists of bridge rectifier along with shunt
capacitance filter and voltage regulator. The transformer is used to convert the
220V supply voltage to 12 V; this is done by using a step down transformer. The
diodes are so arranged to form a bridge rectifier or a center tap rectifier in order
to correct the waveform, further it has capacitor to remove the ripples and
voltage regulator to transform the voltage level to 5V or 12V as per the need.

4.2. Transformer

The step up is connected to a transformer which is a device that transfers

electrical energy from one circuit to another circuit without change in
frequency. It is based on principle of electromagnetic induction i.e. when
current flows through a wire magnetic field id produced, and when a conductor
passes through a magnetic field a current will flow.
There are three main parts in a transformer-
1) Primary winding: When this winding is connected to electrical source it takes
electrical power as an input and produces magnetic flux.
2) Magnetic core: It is produced by primary winding and it creates a close
magnetic circuit while passing through a low reluctance path linked with
secondary winding.
3) Secondary winding: With the help of mutual induction in transformer this
winding provides desired voltage as output.
By altering the number of windings on the primary and secondary coils, we can
alter the amount of volts and amps between the source and the load.
Based on windings the transformer is of two types.
1) Step down Transformer: If there are more turns of wire on the primary coil
than on the secondary coil, the output voltage will be lower than the input
voltage.

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2) Step up Transformer: If there are more turns of wire on the secondary coil
than on the primary coil, the output voltage will be higher than the input
voltage.

4.3. PCB Design

The first step towards carrying out a particular experiment involves the
designing of a printed circuit board. The layout can be graphically
established by use of various applications such as Droid PCB, Every Circuit
etc. Once we have realized the desired layout it is essential to fabricate the
PCB.
For fabricating a PCB we require:
1) Copper Clad Sheet
2) Nail Polish or Paint
3) Ferric Chloride Powder(FeCl)
4) Plastic Tray
Once the PCB has been obtained soldering of elements is done to obtain desired
connections. Advantages of PCB over Bread-board are:
1) We get a much higher density board with PCB.
2) The PCB design is more reliable than the one made on a bread board. The
circuit looks neat without any wires popping up and does not fall apart.
3) There is precise control over the circuit component.
4) For production of large volume of circuit boards, the costs become less and
the soldering can be done with the help of fully automated machines.
For PCB fabrication, some basic steps are:
1) PCB Etching Process
2) PCB Drilling
3) Conductor Plating
4) Solder Resist
5) PCB Testing
6) PCB Assembling

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 CHAPTER 5

APPLICATIONS AND ADVANTAGES

5.1. Applications

1) LAN-to-LAN connection on campuses at Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet

speeds.

2) LAN-to-LAN connections in a city. Example, Metropolitan area network.

3) To cross a public road or other barriers which the sender and receiver do not
own.

4) Temporary network installation (for events or other purposes).

5) Reestablish high-speed connection quickly (disaster recovery).

6) As an alternative or upgrade add-on to existing wireless technologies.

7) As a safety add-on for important fiber connections (redundancy).

5.2. Advantages

1) Quick link setup

2) High transmission security

3) High bit rate

4) Low bit error rate

5) Low snow and rain impact

6) Full duplex transmission

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7) Protocol transparency

8) No interference

9) Lower dispersion (compared to microwave link)

CHAPTER 6

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 CONCLUSION

We would like to conclude the topic by saying that a lot of further

improvisations and improvements can be done so as to increase the efficiency
and the overall working of the project. This system has a lot of applications
throughout in every field and our proposed methodology makes an emphasis on
serial transfer of data from one pc to the other pc. Rest cyptology can also
come in handy in sending of crypts hence improving the efficiency.

CHAPTER 7
REFERENCES

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[1] “RS232 Tutorial on Data Interface and cables” ARC Electronics 2010.
Retrieved2011-07-28.

[2] MAX232(MAX220toMAX249) product webpage;MAXIM

[3]Ulaby Fawwaz(2007).Fundamentals of applies electromagnetics(5th ed.)

[4]Eric Korevaar, Isaac I. Kim and Bruce McArthur (2001). "Atmospheric

Propagation Characteristics of Highest Importance to Commercial Free Space
Optics" (PDF). Optical Wireless Communications IV, SPIE Vol. 4530 p. 84.
Retrieved October 27, 2014.

[5] Mompart, J.; Corbalán, R. (2000). "Lasing without inversion" (PDF). J. Opt.
B: Quantum Semiclass.

[6] MAX3232 (MAX3222 to MAX3241) product webpage; Maxim.

[7]MAX3232E (MAX3222E to MAX3246E) product webpage; Maxim.

[8] SN7401 datasheet – Texas Instruments[9] Jain, R. P.; Anand, M. (1983).

Digital Electronics Practice Using Integrated Circuits. Tata McGraw-Hill
Education.

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