WIRELESS DATA TRANSMISSION USING LASER TECHNIQUE
Vishal.C
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
(Artificial Intelligence)
Amrita School of Engineering
(Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham)
Bengaluru,India
BL.EN.U4AIE19069@bl.students.amrita.edu
Vishal.C
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
(Artificial Intelligence)
Amrita School of Engineering
(Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham)
Bengaluru,India
BL.EN.U4AIE19069@bl.students.amrita.edu
Abstract -Laser-based communication systems
use Li-Fi technology by which data is
transferred through the atmosphere, and it
works on the principle of Intensity Modulation.
Within the process of AM, the amplitude of the
carrier is varied per the instantaneous
amplitude of the input modulating signal. In this
system carrier signal corresponds to laser,
amplitude stands for intensity of laser, and input
signal refers to the audio signal. Hence, the
intensity of the laser is varied in keeping with
the instantaneous value of the audio signal, and
also the same is sensed by the optical sensor at
the receiver. In today’s laser communication
system consists of two sections Transmitter and
Receiver. At the transmitter, the audio signal is
merged with the laser light by using a transistor
operating in common collector mode. Since, in
common collector mode transistor acts as
Impedance matching device, therefore the
intensity of the laser changes in proportion to
audio signal strength. At the receiver, this
varying intensity is sensed by a solar panel
which acts as a transducer. The phototransistor
is biased and connected to the input of a low
voltage audio amplifier (IC LM386) which
drives the loudspeaker.
Keywords—Laser communication system, Li-Fi,
Amplitude modulation, Transmitter, Receiver,
Solar cell, Audio amplifier (LM386)
I. INTRODUCTION
For years, laser light has been merely a system for
piping light around corners and into the
inaccessible places to allow the hidden to be
Vishal.C
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
(Artificial Intelligence)
Amrita School of Engineering
(Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham)
Bengaluru,India
BL.EN.U4AIE19069@bl.students.amrita.edu
Vishal.C
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
(Artificial Intelligence)
Amrita School of Engineering
(Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham)
Bengaluru,India
BL.EN.U4AIE19069@bl.students.amrita.edu
lighted. But now, laser light has evolved into a
system of significantly greater importance and use.
Throughout the world, it is now being used to
transmit voice, television and data signals as light
waves. One of the most attractive improvements
lately in the field of telecommunication and
networking is the utilization of laser light to
transfer data over an enormous distance. It has been
demonstrated that light wave transmission through
laser light is better than transmission through other
lights since laser light has a much lower
transmission loss per unit length and isn't
susceptible to any kind of electromagnetic
interference. Financially likewise, it fills our needs.
.[1]
Light-fidelity (Li-Fi) is one among the most
effective wireless optical networking technology
that uses traditional LEDs for transferring of
information. Li-Fi technology is the future for
wireless optical networking communication. It uses
the principle of intensity modulation. Intensity
modulation is the commonly used technique in Li-
Fi technology where data is being transmitted
according to the differences in the intensity of light.
This is believed to be the future generation of the
internet where laser light can be used as the
medium of transmission of data and information. .
[2]
By using Li-Fi technology transmission of data is
possible through visible light, that is we can send
data through an LED light bulb that varies in
intensity faster than our own human eye. The ON-
OFF function of LEDs helps binary data
transmission i.e., when the LED is in ON state,
logical 1 is transmitted and when the LED is OFF,
logical 0 is transmitted. .[3]
It is possible to replace Wi-Fi with Li-Fi. Li-Fi is
ideal and better in confined areas where there are
no obstacles. There are two variants of Wi-Fi used
nowadays with two different frequencies where one
is of 2.4Ghz frequency and the other one is of 5Ghz
frequency. 2.4Ghz frequency Wi-Fi can only
transfer a maximum of 300MBPS of data and it can
be used in a wide range. But in the case of 5Ghz
frequency Wi-Fi the data transfer rate is more than
1.5GBPS which is much higher than 2.4Ghz. By
comparing Wi-Fi with Li-Fi, it has been found that
Li-Fi has better bandwidth, efficiency, security and
there is no interference caused. Replacing radio
waves with is the key that overcomes the
difficulties faced in 5G. [5]
II. PROPOSED MODEL
Fig 1. Block diagram of wireless audio
transmission using laser.
The proposed system is a simple way to represent
the wireless transmission of data(audio). On the
transmitter side, the input is an audio signal and the
source can be any devices that supports a 3.5 mm
audio jack connection such as smartphones,
laptops, tablets, etc. The other end of the audio jack
is connected to the laser module. There’s an inbuilt
cell that power up the laser light because there is
less power coming from the audio source which is
not enough to power the laser beam. On the
receiver side, we are using a solar cell that acts as a
transducer and converts the laser light into an
electrical quantity i.e. voltage. This output from the
solar cell is fed to a low voltage amplifier (IC
LM386) where the signal is amplified and then this
output is sent to the speaker using an aux cable, the
speaker here acts as a transducer converting the
voltage into audio. There is a 12V power supply
(battery) for the amplifier as well as for the
speaker.
III. Hardware components used
A. Laser module
On the transmitter side, we have a laser module of
the range 630nm-680nm. The operating voltage of
the laser module is 3.5V to 5V. An audio jack of
3.5 mm is connected to the source and the other
end of the audio jack is connected with the laser
module. Here we are using a laser with inbuilt cell
to power up the laser as the power coming from the
audio source is less which is not enough to power
up the laser light.
Fig 2. Laser Module
B. Solar cell
On the receiver side, we are using a mini solar
panel of the range 6V and 100mA. Here the solar
cell acts like a transducer which converts the laser
light into an electrical quantity i.e. voltage. Solar
cell is used because it is very sensitive that it can
detect a small intensity change and corresponding
there will be change in the voltages of the output of
the solar cell according to the intensity of light.
Fig 3. Solar cell
C. Audio Amplifier (IC LM386) D. Speaker

The output of the solar panel is fed to the audio The amplified output from the amplifier is fed to
amplifier for the amplification of the signal. Here the speaker connected to a 9V battery. Here the
we are using a low voltage IC LM386 audio speaker is a transducer which converts the voltage
amplifier. The default gain value of this amplifier is into sound and thus the audio is heard.
20 because a resistor 1.30K is attached internally
between pin 1 and pin 8. The gain value of the
amplifier can be adjusted between the range 20-100
by connecting the resistor and capacitor circuit
between pin 1 and pin 8.

Fig 4. Pin configuration of IC LM386

Fig 6. Speaker
• Pin 1 is the gain pin. It is used adjust the amplifier
gain by connecting it to an external capacitor. E. Complete Receiver circuit diagram
•Pin 2 is the non-inverting pin which is used to
provide the audio signal.
•Pin 3 is the inverting terminal and it is connected
to ground.
•Pin 4 is a ground pin connected to the ground.
•Pin 5 is the output pin and it is used to provide
amplified audio output, and it is connected to the
speaker.
•Pin-6 is connected to the power supply (9V
battery).
•Pin-7 is the bypass pin and it is used to connect a
decoupling capacitor.
•Pin-8 is the gain setting pin.
A complete audio amplifier can be made using
various capacitors like 100uF,1000uF, resistor of Fig 7. Receiver circuit diagram
10KΩ, 15KΩ, and speaker of 12Ω, etc.

IV. WORKING

A. The Visible Light of Electromagnetic Spectrum

Fig 5. Complete Audio Amplification component.
The visible light is a part of the electromagnetic
spectrum which can be seen through our human
eye. There are seven different colours of visible
light spectrum and they are continuous. The
wavelength of the visible light spectrum ranges
from 380 to 700 nanometres. The data transmission
takes place in the visible region. The rate of
transmission depends upon the intensity of light. In
this way the data is encoded and transmitted. We
use laser because it has higher transmission rate
and loss of data is very less.
 Fig 8. Visible Light Spectrum
B. Working of LEDS
Light Emitting Diodes can be turned on and off
quicker than our eye can identify since the working
pace of LEDs is below 1 μs, consequently making
the light source give off an impression of being
persistently on thereby human beings can't observe
it. In the case of binary, turning on a LED is
considered as '1', turning it off is considered as '0'.
Thus, it is easy to encode data in light. Here we use
laser because it is faster and data loss is minimum.
V. RESULTS
From our wireless audio transmission using laser
experiment we have found that laser based wireless
communication is faster, there’s no loss in data, it
is environmental friendly and interference caused is
less compared to radio waves.
Simulation Model:
Simulation Input:
Simulation Output:
VI.. FEATURES AND ADVANTAGES
A. Capacity
The Bandwidth of Laser based transmission of data
is very high compared to other means of
transmission of data and it is of easy to use. The
data density is 1000 times higher than radio waves
because the interference in light is very less
compared to radio waves.
B. Efficiency
To build a laser based or any visible light-based
communication system the cost of building that
application is very less and the number of
components required for building is very less. No
additional power is required for this technology.
C. Safety
There is no electromagnetic radiation produced or
interreference caused by Li-Fi technology
compared to other wireless technologies such as
radio waves, micro waves, IR waves, etc.
Therefore, it does not cause any heath issues and
any other type of problems. As it is free from
electromagnetic radiation it can be used in
hospitals.
D. Security
Hacking and stealing data are negligible as the
transmission of data takes place in a confined area.
VII. APPLICATION
Smart Hotspots: Any source that emits light such as
street lamps can be used as Li-Fi hotspot.
Airlines: As Wi-Fi is prohibited in aeroplanes,
aircraft, etc. The lights present there can used for
transmission of data.
Traffic: Li-Fi technology can be used between the
LEDs of the vehicles for communication thereby
reducing the risk of accidents.
Giga Speed: As the rate of transmission of data
through light is very high, it is the key to overcome
the difficulties and challenges faced in 5G.
GPS: Using Li-Fi technology it is possible to get
highly accurate location information.
Hospital and Power Plants: As Li-Fi technology
does not cause any electromagnetic disturbance it
can be used in sensitive areas such as hospitals and
power plants.
Satellite communication: Satellites used high
power laser-based communication system for very
fast transmission of data across space.
Underwater Vehicle Communication: Using Lasers
it is easy to communicate underwater compared to
other means of communication.
VIII. LIMITATIONS
The main disadvantage of using light or laser for
data transmission is that it cannot penetrate through
walls and other such obstacles. Therefore, it can be
only used in a confined area with no obstacles. If
light get’s blocked one can use other means for
communication.
Other light sources such as sunlight and all can
cause interference which causes data interruption
and other such distortions.
IX. COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
Flickering light causes damage to human eyes:
Our human eye can see lower rates of
flickering light of range 120-150 Hz. The rate
at which the light flickers during data
transmission is very high and these changes
cannot be recognized by human eye, therefore
it does not cause any disturbance to our human
eye.
Li-Fi technology is unidirectional: Li-Fi
Technology can be used for both Uplink as
well as downlink with the help of other
wireless technologies.
Existing installed lights has to be replaced: There is
no need to replace existing lights to use Li-Fi. Li-Fi
equipment are only needed to be added separately.
X. CONCLUSION
This technology of transmission of data by means
of laser light and other types of visible light is still
under development. As day by day technology is
improving and new technologies are emerging
there’s no wonder that one day this technology will
be a breakthrough in the field of communication
and can assure data speed more than 1000gbps and
also promises a safer, greener and a heathier future.
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