Chapter3 2 3. Advancements in Optical Data Transmission and Security Systems

Abstract Optical Communication (OC) for data transmission was introduced more than 30 years ago. It employs two main technologies, fiber optics using a physical wire and Free Space Optical (FSO) wireless transmission. Fiber optics has been well developed over the years in terms of distance, bandwidth, speed, reliability, and other enhancements that contribute to its use. Recent developments in FSO transmission has made it the mainstream and a better alternative compared to RF wireless transmission, concerning all parameters. In this chapter, we focus on advancements in OC that represent innovative ideas of how to enable new methods of secured optical data transmission in different ways and not simply as an extension to current methods and technologies.