Development of an Array of Coherent Nanoantennas

Abstract

Due to their extreme transmission capacity, optical communication systems revolutionized the long haul access and availability of data around the globe. Nonetheless, short range commercial and residential systems-especially mobile ones-still employ lower frequencies for data transmission. To supply the future demand for high transmission rates in mobile devices new systems must be developed, and one of the main candidates involves using free-space optics. Our proposal is to study and develop such a system based on optical phased array antennas with feed control, which could be used, for instance, coupled to an LED illumination system connecting multiple wireless devices with ultra-high transmission rates. In such context of indoor communications, our system will be developed for both directions: down-link and up-link, that is, transmission from the source to the mobile devices and vice-versa, with special attention given to the latter due to its more stringent efficiency requirements. The methodology we adopt suggests the individual development of each system block while taking into account the final system, which will be demonstrated at the end. The timeline, displayed in trimesters, guides the theoretical studies, development, and demonstration phases of the whole project