A comprehensive road map of modern communication through free-space optics

Abstract

Abstract Free-space optical communication (FSO) has emerged as an opportunity for future generation high-speed wireless communication, substituting its radio frequency (RF) counterpart. Considering few fiber optics limitations, FSO has been gaining its popularity since last three decades. FSO has a wide band of operational frequencies ranging from far infrared (IR) to ultraviolet (UV). This review article basically talks about the use of near IR frequency advantages for FSO applications. Through this manuscript, authors try to reinforce a detail background knowledge about FSO through various evolutions by systems and techniques. There are many applications of FSO that have been discussed and experimented in many research publications through the years, but this review article presents an in-depth analysis of various challenges and system failures due to remote hindrances. Finally, the authors have briefed some performance enhancement techniques through several physical and network layer methods. Through this, the authors present a comprehensive review on FSO communication systems appropriately for learners and young researchers who are at their early stage in research on FSO.