A naval signal lamp, a form of optical communication that uses shutters and is typically employed with Morse code (2002)
Optical communication, also known as optical telecommunication, is communication at a distance using light to carry information. It can be performed visually or by using electronic devices. The earliest basic forms of optical communication date back several millennia, while the earliest electrical device created to do so was the photophone, invented in 1880.
An optical communication system uses a transmitter, which encodes a message into an optical signal, a channel, which carries the signal to its destination, and a receiver, which reproduces the message from the received optical signal. When electronic equipment is not employed the 'receiver' is a person visually observing and interpreting a signal, which may be either simple (such as the presence of a beacon fire) or complex (such as lights using color codes or flashed in a Morse code sequence).
Modern communication relies on optical networking systems using optical fiber, optical amplifiers, lasers, switches, routers, and other related technologies. Free-space optical communication use lasers to transmit signals in space, while terrestrial forms are naturally limited by geography and weather. This article provides a basic introduction to different forms of optical communication.
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Opticalcommunication, also known as optical telecommunication, is communication at a distance using light to carry information. It can be performed visually...
Laser communication in space is the use of free-space opticalcommunication in outer space. Communication may be fully in space (an inter-satellite laser...
bandwidth OpticalcommunicationOptical mesh network Optical power meter Radiation effects on optical fibers Return loss Subwavelength-diameter optical fiber...
A passive optical network (PON) is a fiber-optic telecommunications network that uses only unpowered devices to carry signals, as opposed to electronic...
Optical networking is a means of communication that uses signals encoded in light to transmit information in various types of telecommunications networks...
or point-to-multipoint communication channel. Examples of such channels are copper wires, optical fibers, wireless communication using radio spectrum,...
control light using only light and has applications in optical computing and fiber-optic communication networks. Such technology has the potential to exceed...
information sent by the transmitter. Free-space opticalcommunication (FSO) is an opticalcommunication technology that uses light propagating in free...
received optical signal. Fiber-optic communication systems transmit information from one place to another by sending light through an optical fiber. The...
without an optical cavity, or one in which feedback from the cavity is suppressed. Optical amplifiers are important in opticalcommunication and laser...
networks. Recently Organic LEDs (OLED) have been used as optical transceivers to build up VLC communication links up to 10 Mbit/s. In October 2014, Axrtek launched...
Optical computing or photonic computing uses light waves produced by lasers or incoherent sources for data processing, data storage or data communication...
heliograph was a simple but effective instrument for instantaneous opticalcommunication over long distances during the late 19th and early 20th century...
Finisar Corporation is a manufacturer of opticalcommunication components and subsystems. The company was founded in April 1987 by Frank Levinson and...
conveying textual information by means of visual signals (a form of opticalcommunication). There are two main types of such systems; the semaphore telegraph...
and optical heliographs to wires and empty space made to carry electromagnetic signals. These paths of transmission may be divided into communication channels...
Optical wireless communications (OWC) is a form of opticalcommunication in which unguided visible, infrared (IR), or ultraviolet (UV) light is used to...
signal is subject to electronic noise and distortion introduced by communication channels, recording and signal processing operations, which can progressively...
A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any variation of...
A communication channel refers either to a physical transmission medium such as a wire, or to a logical connection over a multiplexed medium such as a...
equipment Transmission lines Optical fiber Local loops Base transceiver stations Free-space opticalcommunication Laser communication in space Multiplexers Communications...
used in optical disc drives, laser printers, barcode scanners, DNA sequencing instruments, fiber-optic, and free-space opticalcommunication, semiconducting...
coaxial cables, and optical fibers. Telecommunications engineers also provide solutions revolving around wireless modes of communication and information transfer...
premises (FTTP) is a form of fiber-optic communication delivery in which an optical fiber is run in an optical distribution network from the central office...
Communication with submarines is a field within military communications that presents technical challenges and requires specialized technology. Because...
300 ft).[citation needed] Being able to join optical fibers with low loss is important in fiber optic communication. This is more complex than joining electrical...