Wireless optical transmission of fast ethernet, FDDI, ATM, and ESCON protocol data using the TerraLink laser communication system

• Published in: Optical Engineering Vol. 37; no. 12; pp. 3143 - 3155
• Main Authors: Kim, Isaac I, Stieger, Ron, Koontz, Joseph A, Moursund, Carter, Barclay, Micah, Adhikari, Prasanna, Schuster, John, Korevaar, Eric, Ruigrok, Richard, DeCusatis, Casimer
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.12.1998
• Subjects: asynchronous transfer mode; ESCON; ethernet; fiber distributed data interface; infrared; laser communication; link budget; scintillation

The TerraLink laser communication (lasercom) system was developed as a cost-effective, high-bandwidth, wireless alternative to fiber optic transmission. The advantages of lasercom over fiber optic cabling are primarily economic. However, free-space lasercom is subject to atmospheric effects, such as...