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PhD. of Karel Van Acoleyen

Author: Karel Van Acoleyen
Dutch Title: Nanofotonische adaptieve antennes op basis van siliciumchips voor draadloze optische toepassingen
English Title: Nanophotonic Beamsteering Elements Using Silicon Technology for Wireless Optical Applications
Date: 27/8/2012
Main Language: English
ISBN number: ISBN 978-90-8578-525-5
Thesis: Download the PhD Thesis (25MB) (25MB)

Abstract

Optical wireless links are rapidly gaining importance. To satisfy the growing demand for bandwidth, different technologies will need to be explored and developed. In the wireless communicationworld, a bandwidth bottleneck is foreseen
in the coming years due to the strict regulations and technological limitations.
In the wired world, people have shifted from copper cables to optical fibers to satisfy these increasing bandwidth needs. The same can now be done in the
wireless world. Also short to very-short range links can greatly benefit from a wireless optical implementation. Optical interconnects, for example, is a fast growing domain to solve the problem of high-speed interconnects between different parts of an electronic chip as the current speed of electronic chips is at the limits of what copper interconnects are able to handle. The use of free-space
optical links can help to tackle this problem.
The applications of opticalwireless are, however, not limited tocommunication but also reach to sensing and spectroscopy applications: monitoring pollution,
gas concentrations, measuring air speed, wind profiling. In these applications,an optical radar (LIDAR) is typically used. This is a wireless beam steering component sending out light and analyzing the reflected light. This technique is also used to create high-definition topography maps. All these applications need efficient beam steering.

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