Safety Analysis for Laser-based Optical Wireless Communications: A Tutorial

Mohammad Dehghani Soltani, Elham Sarbazi, Nikolaos Bamiedakis, Priyanka De Souza, Hossein Kazemi, Jaafar M.H. Elmirghani, Ian White, Richard V. Penty, Harald Haas, Majid Safari

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation (laser) sources has many advantages for use in high-data-rate optical wireless communications (OWCs).
In particular, the low-cost and high-bandwidth properties of laser sources, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), make them attractive for future indoor OWCs. In order to be integrated into future indoor networks, such
lasers should conform to eye safety regulations determined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for laser safety. In this article, we provide a detailed study of beam propagation to evaluate the received power
of various laser sources, based on which and the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) defined by the IEC 60825-1:2014 Standard, we establish a comprehensive framework for eye safety analyses. This framework allows us to calculate the maximum allowable transmit power, which is crucial in the
design of a reliable and safe laser-based wireless communication system. Initially, we consider a single-mode Gaussian beam and calculate the maximum permissible transmit power. Subsequently, we generalize this approach for higher mode beams. It is shown that the M-squared-based approach for
analysis of multimode lasers ensures the IEC eye safety limits; however, in some scenarios, it can be too conservative compared to the precise beam decomposition method. Laser safety analyses with consideration of optical elements, such as lens and diffuser, as well as for the VCSEL array, have
been also presented. Skin safety, as another significant factor of laser safety, has also been investigated in this article. We have studied the impacts of various parameters, such as wavelength, exposure duration, and the divergence angle of laser sources on the safety analysis by presenting insightful results.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1045-1072
JournalProceedings of the IEEE
Volume110
Issue number8
Early online date22 Jun 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2022

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Eye safety
  • Gaussian beam
  • Hermite-Gaussian
  • Integrated optics
  • Laguerre-Gaussian and optical wireless communication (OWC)
  • Laser beams
  • Laser modes
  • Power lasers
  • Safety
  • Standards
  • Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers
  • laser source
  • maximum permissible exposure (MPE)
  • skin safety
  • vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)
  • Eye safety; Gaussian beam; Hermite-Gaussian
  • laser source; maximum permissible exposure (MPE)

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