2015 4th International Workshop on Optical Wireless Communications (IWOW)
Low-Cost NIR Measurement Device
Luka Mustafa
Institute IRNAS Race
Email: musti@irnas.eu
AbstractDue to lack of low-cost near infra-red measurement
devices for spatial beam profiling in free-space optical systems,
a custom solution is developed, utilizing commercially available
PIN+TIA detector and limiting amplifier, that are primarily used
in SFP optical modules.
We have developed a NIR pixel module, comprising of a
standalone detector coupled with an RGB LED that provides
visible feedback for detecting wavelengths in the 1100-1650 nm
range. A set of 9 such pixels integrated into a portable battery
powered measurement device capable of detecting the spatial
distribution of a collimated optical beam of up to 4 cm in
diameter and streaming per pixel measurements via WiFi to a
personal computer has been developed.
We also show how a single NIR pixel coupled with a low-cost
open-source 3D printer can be used to determine optical beam
spatial power distribution profile and is capable of creating 2D
and 3D distribution scans with better than 0.2 mm resolution.
I. I NTRODUCTION
Free-space communication system development at 1.5 m
for low cost data links is recently gaining popularity, but
development is challenging due to a lack of affordable metrol-
ogy equipment operating in this wavelength range. We have
faced this exact problem when developing a low-cost outdoor
wireless optical system KORUZA [1] and thus developed the
spatial beam profiling tools introduced in this paper.
Establishing long range outdoor optical links requires well
collimated optical outputs to maximize link budget. Installa-
tion of such links requires careful alignment of the transceiver
units using optical sights or a visible optical output that can
be observed by eye. During initial calibration of the units it is
essential align the optical axis of the visible sighting system
to the infrared data carrying optical signal. This step requires
a device that is capable of detecting the collimated infrared
beam. Furthermore in research applications the optical power
distribution of the beam itself is of interest.
The most significant difficulties arise when wavelengths
longer then 1000 nm are used as they have insufficient energy
to be observed by conventional CCD detector arrays and other
Si based detectors, thus the available range of measurements
devices is extremely limited with high associated cost [2].
To address this challenge we develop a custom low cost,
open-source detection device, operating in the 1100-1650 nm
range capable of detecting and measuring the power distribu-
tion of a 30 mm diameter optical beam.
Additionally, as the device needs to be used in the calibra-
tion procedure, it must perform well under daylight conditions
with optical beam power densities less then 100 W/cm2 . A
solution implementing InGaAs photodetectors was adopted,
978-1-4673-7726-3/15/$31.00 2015IEEE 127
Eva Cerncic
Institute IRNAS Race
Email: eva@irnas.eu
re-purposing a standard mass-produced fibre optic 155M In-
GaAs PIN-TIA photodetector and used together with a limiting
amplifier primarily designed for use in SFP modules with
a peripheral functionality of measuring the incident optical
power.
The second section of the paper gives an overview of the
existing measurement systems for IR wavelengths. The design
and performance of developed NIR pixel module is described
in the third section, where also the first prototype is presented.
Sections four and five present two useful applications, where
developed module is integrated; an alignment tool, portable
device used in the calibration process to detect the optical
beam and a beam scanner system, utilising 3D printer for
producing beam power profile at very low cost.
II. AVAILABLE NIR M EASUREMENT S YSTEMS OVERVIEW
Currently the range of available NIR optical measurement
devices, capable of detecting collimated free-space optical
beams in wavelength range 1100-1650 nm, is extremely
limited with high associated cost, due to insufficient photon
energy of such beams to be observed by conventional CCD
detector arrays and other Si based detectors.
One option at a relatively high price is a Short Wavelength
IR (SWIR) camera, also named Near IR camera (NIR), using
InGaAs sensor array, which enables measurement of intensity
distribution due to its high resolution.
IR indicator cards are a significantly cheaper option. These
emit visible light when IR optical power is incident, due to
a phosphorous coating, optically charged from daylight and
as such they are the simplest form of NIR optical beam
indication. However the sensitivity of these devices limits
their use in Free Space Optical systems. In the wireless
optical system KORUZA and others with sources in 1 mW
range when forming a collimated beam of 30 mm diameter
results in an optical power density of 140 W/cm2 , which
is observable on the indicator card in dark environment, how-
ever this becomes unobservable in daylight. For the majority
of short range optical experiments this may be sufficient
in controlled environments, however wireless optical system
KORUZA calibration must be at distances of about 25-100 m.
The IR indicator card method is thus only feasible outdoors at
night without moonlight and the presence of light pollution.
Lower cost devices, used for optical imaging and power
measurement in 1100-1650 nm range in wired optical net-
working, were considered as well. Various kinds of optical
power meters are widely used in installing and maintaining
 2015 4th International Workshop on Optical Wireless Communications (IWOW)
procedures for any type of fiber networks. Housed either
inside the hand-held unit or connected externally, utilising
InGaAs or Ge detector for the use in the 800-1700 nm range.
Experimental evaluation on the KORUZA system has proven
that when the fibre attachment is removed and the detector area
is directly exposed a FSO beam can be detected. However,
such devices are not able to measure the spatial profile of
the beam and are only marginally useful in the alignment and
calibration of FSO systems.
III. D EVELOPMENT OF NIR M EASUREMENT D EVICE
The main objective was to design a system, that would
enable detection of a relatively large beam (diameter 30 mm)
in the 1100-1650 nm range and also measure its spatial power
distribution. Due to use in the alignment procedure, usually
performed outside during the day, performance of such system
should not be affected by daylight conditions and optical
beam density less then 100 W/cm2 . Also, complying with
the general aspiration of wireless optical KORUZA project,
solution ought to be open-source and low-cost.
A. Design Approach
Two approaches were considered, either building on the use
of phosphorous coatings and standard optical sensor arrays
or implementing a solution using InGaAs photodetectors. We
have opted for the latter as it has improved sensitivity and the
cost should be lower than for phosphorous coating solution.
A detector module was designed with PIN+TIA detector and
limiting amplifier as used in the standard SFP optical modules,
due to their mass production and low cost. A 155 Mbps
InGaAs PIN-TIA module YPC3418-X-44, typically used as
a detector in SFP optical modules, costing approximately 1
USD at low volumes, with a -3 dBm saturation power and
-36 dBm sensitivity for BER = 105 @ 155 Mbps way used.
Detailed information on responsiveness and optical transfer
function information is not available, thus some properties for
later calculations need to be assumed.
SFP modules also contain a limiting amplifier with primary
goal of amplifying differential output signal from TIA with
voltage swing as little as 3 mV to the full swing at 1200 mV
pk-pk. Additionally, the IC contains Loss of Signal and RSSI
Detection mechanisms, which implement the functionality of
our interest. A relatively low-cost limiting amplifier at ap-
proximately 1.3 USD at reasonable volume, Texas Instrument
ONET4201PA was chosen.
B. NIR Pixel Module
A standalone optical detection NIR pixel module with
visible user feedback and measurement output for use in
automated systems was designed, integrating the YPC3418-X-
44 detector with ONET4201PA limiting amplifier. the optical
aperture of the PIN-TIA detector is a 1mm ball-lens and can
be used without additional optics, with stable mounting for
high resolution measurements, however only when sufficient
optical power is incident.
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As the primary goal is to observe 30 mm diameter optical
beam, an 3x3 array of detectors, mounted in a 3D printable
enclosure, was used. Area of each detector was extended
using 7 mm diameter (6 mm lens area) plastic convex lenses
(PMMA,f = 6.47 mm), re-purposed from low-cost laser pointer
modules. Due to plastic PMMA material 70-80% transmission
over 1100-1650 nm wavelength range can be expected.
Sensitivity Evaluation: The effective active area of each
photodetector, magnified trough the 1 mm ball lens, has been
experimentally determined to be about 0.2 mm in diameter.
The lens accounts for the 28.5 dB increase in sensitivity, but
significantly limits the angle of incidence under which the
collimated of with additional lens focused light will still fall
on the detector. Detection area on the ball lens is 0.13 mm2
with 1.23 W/mm2 sensitivity. Thus, when an additional lens
of 6mm diameter area and 80% transmission is introduced,
detection area increases to 28.3 mm2 , corresponding to 0.0045
W/mm2 sensitivity.
In comparison an IR indicator card, which has a sensitivity
of 0.3 W/mm2 at 1550nm, is more sensitive then the NIR
pixel without the additional lens. However with the addition
of the 6mm external lens the NIR pixel offers two orders of
magnitude better. In addition is performance is not degraded
in daylight conditions.
C. First Prototype Design
The first version of the NIR pixel is a barebone module
with only the PIN-TIA and amplifier per pixel on a 3x3 board.
Every pixel is a standalone unit with GND, RSSI and VCC
connections. Circuit board area of 8x8 cm is used at minimal
size to mount 7 mm lenses side by side in 3D printable
enclosure.
Space optimization on the PCB is achieved by mounting the
through hole TO46 package on surface mount pads on one side
of the board and the limiting amplifier on the other side. An
LED is added to indicate the LOS signal status, where the
LOS threshold is defined with a resistor R2. An additional
current limiting resistor (R1) is used for the LED as shown in
Fig.1.
Fig. 1: NIR pixel first prototype schematic.
The assembled PCB of 9 pixels, as shown in Fig.2, is wired
to Texas Instruments Tiva C Launchpad development board
running code written in the Energia environment. Analogue
inputs read the RSSI value for each pixel and report it via the
 2015 4th International Workshop on Optical Wireless Communications (IWOW)

serial port, either connected through on-board USB or an HC-

05 bluetooth module. A simple Processing script colour-codes
the power and displays it on the screen. A detailed open-source
release of this version is available [4].

Fig. 2: NIR pixel first prototype board.

Fig. 3: Optical response of NIR pixel as a function of angle
of incidence when exposed to collimated 1550nm Gaussian
Prototype Evaluation: The prototype has proven useful for beam.
detection of optical beam produce by KORUZA system, with
few issues to be resolved in future versions. In particular, LOS
status LEDs mounted on each pixel proved to be very useful
to be used primarily in the calibration process of wireless
and should be color-coded for optimal user experience. Cost
optical system KORUZA units.
per pixel of such design is estimated at approximately 4 USD
at reasonable volumes.
The use of the additional 6 mm lens is this design meant A. Design Description
that the NIR pixels were very sensitive to the incident angle of The new design, as seen in the Fig.4, features 9 pixels placed
the incoming light. An experiment has been performed with in two concentric rings and one in the centre, to enable mea-
precision single rotation stage perpendicular to the optical axis surement of circularly symmetric Gaussian beam properties.
of the NIR pixel exposed to a collimated Gaussian beam of Incident power feedback and RSSI measurement for each pixel
30 mm diameter from KORUZA wireless optical units. The is given, while on opposite side to the photodetectors LOS
experiment has been performed for the lens placed at two status LEDs are located for visual aid. To allow portable use
distances from the receiver, defined as back focal distance system is battery powered and equipped with WiFi connection
from the PMMA lens with 6.47 mm back focal length. Figure for integration in test networks.
3 shows experimental results for two configurations, with Note that various configurations of NIR pixel modules
receiver placed in the focus of the lens and 2 mm shifted out of are possible; appropriate size and number of arrays can be
it. Half optical power angle of incidence under which optical chosen based on the desired accuracy needed for the specific
power was received was 4 degrees and 10 degrees respectively, application.
with additional attenuation for the lens placed closer to the
detector.
As such the usability of the NIR pixel array is limited
as a hand held device due to the limited angle of incidence
for detecting the optical signal. By placing the lens closer
to the detector a fixed loss is introduced but the angle of
incidence is increased, improving the hand held usability.
Further developments should consider using TO46 packages
just with a clear window instead of ball lens. Also the power
consumption of the prototype is significant, with 65 mA per
pixel at 3.3 V, limiting the potential for battery powered
operation. Power switches were implemented per groups of
pixels, enabling their multiplexing and power saving mode
implementation.

IV. KORUZA A LIGNMENT T OOL Fig. 4: KORUZA alignment tool with incident IR optical
Due to satisfactory performance of the first NIR pixel power from above.
prototype, user friendly version of the system was developed,

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 2015 4th International Workshop on Optical Wireless Communications (IWOW)
Visual Incident Power Indication: Mimicking a low-
resolution behaviour of IR indicator card with the active circuit
is possible by indicating optical power incident on each pixel
by varying brightness of an LED, however it is much more
intuitive and easier to observe if amplitude is colour coded.
RGB LED, placed as close to the detector as possible on the
same side as the IR optical power is incident, allows user to
observe where IR light has hit the aperture.
The opposite side of the circuit board features LOS status
indicating LEDs for basic alignment. For efficient implemen-
tation of RGB lights, WS2812B modules have been used
featuring a SPI like communication protocol and integrated
RGB LEDs, requiring only a single pin on the control circuit
for controlling a series of LEDs.
Communication: Due to limitations of bluetooth connec-
tions in terms of insufficient range and inconvenience for
integration in networks, we opted for implementation of WiFi
connectivity. An ESP8266 self-contained WiFi module with
a 32 bit processor on board at a sub-5USD cost and range
exceeding 100 m at lowest bit-rate, was used. Network integra-
tion was implemented in the design with LuA base NodeMCU
firmware support and custom code published on-line [5].
RSSI Measurement: Due to 9 individual pixels being used,
9 analogue measurement channels or a multiplexing system
is required to conduct RSSI measurements. Additionally, a
channel is required for battery voltage measurement. As using
WiFi module in conjunction with an external analog to digital
converter module showed to be price inefficient, Texas Instru-
ment MSP430G2955 low-power low-cost 16 bit MCU with
sufficient number of analogue inputs has been chosen at a cost
of approximately 1 USD. Firmware has been developed for the
device to read the analog channels and send measurements
via UART to the ESP8266 module for processing and LED
control.
Periphery and Implementation: Additionally to the main
modules, the device uses a LiPo charger and a standard mobile
phone battery, charged via on-board USB port. The circuit
board has been designed, manufactured and assembled as
shown, with a schematic representation of modules in Fig.5.
Fig. 5: KORUZA alignment tool circuit board and schematic
representation.
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B. Testing and KORUZA Calibration
KORUZA alignment tool has been tested and used with KO-
RUZA system. The optical power distribution within the beam
can be clearly observed with the color coding representation
at every pixel.
Beam Diameter and Gaussian Fit: Measurements of each
pixel available through WiFi interface can directly be imported
in Matlab environment where 9 points were showed to be
sufficient to create a 3D Gaussian fit in the case of Gaussian
beam, exploiting properties of the 2D Gaussian distribution.
Thus, collimated beam diameter and power distribution on
incident area can be determined in real time. Future work
should implement this functionality directly on the calibration
device, using the extra LED diode to report beam diameter
status to guide the user to adjust calibration.
Fig. 6: Gaussian fit, based on 9 measurement points of
Gaussian beam.
V. B EAM S CANNER
Knowing characteristics of a laser beam, i.e. its spatial
energy distribution, is essential for most wireless optical appli-
cations. The beam profile is used to characterize the quality of
optical sources, observe effects introduced by lenses and other
optical components. Such characterisation can be made with
NIR cameras or larger specifically designed detectors,however,
these system are expensive.
To be able to quantitatively characterize optical output a
wireless optical system and perform measurements for our own
purposes, an alternative beam scanner system was designed by
using a NIR pixel measurement unit coupled to a low-cost and
open-source 3D printer. The system is able to make a 2D scan
of emitted optical power at a fixed distance from the source in
order to measure the spatial power distribution. In addition to
this multiple 2D scans can be taken at varies distances from
the optical source and thus create a volumetric model of power
distribution of an optical beam.
A. System Overview
A NIR pixel sensor is mounted on the print head of an open-
source 3D printer Troublemaker [6], capable of movement in
X and Y axis with better than 0.1 mm accuracy. The laser
source, for example a SFP module, may be place on the print
bed pointing towards the NIR pixel. Alternatively, NIR pixel is
 2015 4th International Workshop on Optical Wireless Communications (IWOW)

mounted pointing upwards to measure an optical beam pointed

from a greater distance.
A Matlab application controls the movement of the 3D
printer by sending GCODE commands directly and collecting
measurements from the NIR pixel serial interface. Scanning
speed is limited by the open loop control as 3D printer
firmware does not return on movement finished. A conserva-
tively set delay ensures movement is completed prior to optical
power measurements.
Conventional line scanning of the area has been substituted
by a rectangular spiral scan, starting of the center of the
area and continuing outwards until no more optical power is
detected. Future work should implement a coarse bean locating
algorithm and size detection to optimize scanning time as well
as modify 3D printer firmware for closed loop control.
B. Testing Fig. 8: Scan of uncollimated beam.
The system was extensively tested on the SPF units, used
in the KORUZA system. Scanning resolution is limited with array of 9 pixels arranged in a circular pattern, to allow for
the size of the receiver area on the photo-diode, typically 0.2 measurements of collimated beam diameter of KORUZA units
mm, and the mechanical 0.05 mm movement resolution of as well as aligning the green and IR signal optical beams. Im-
the 3D printer. When changing the direction we may need to plementation of RGB led lights allows for intuitive use, while
account for the backlash in movement. Example of the scan WiFi connectivity supports more advanced measurements and
is shown in Fig.7 and Fig.8, displaying an assuming Gaussian integration into an automated calibration system.
optical source and some different optical power distribution In the Beam Scanner system the NIR pixel module is
at higher resolution respectively. We have experienced decent mounted on the 3D printer head to measure the spatial beam
results with 20x20 grid for most applications. profile with an accuracy of 0.2mm at a very low price in
comparison with other systems that are available. The profile
at various distances from the source can also be determined
and divergence of various modes observed.
VII. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank Dr. Benn Thomsen of University
College London for invaluable advice and Shuttleworth Foun-
dation for funding the project with the Fellowship of Luka
Mustafa.

(a) 3D view. (b) Top view. R EFERENCES

Fig. 7: Gaussian beam scan.
VI. C ONCLUSION
Due to limited availability and high price point of currently
available options in observing NIR optical wavelengths in free
space, a custom and versatile measurement system at very low
cost was developed.
The NIR pixel module integrates a PIN+TIA photodetector
and a limiting amplifier, both mass produced items that are
typically used in optical SFP modules. The sensitivity of
detector and effect of an additional lens have been experimen-
tally measured and show to provide two orders of magnitude
better sensitivity than the IR phosphorous viewer card. The
calibration procedure for output in standard units has been
outlined as well.
The NIR pixel design has been used in two measurement
devices, the first being the alignment tool, integrating an
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[2] L. Mustafa, I. Rahman, B. Thomsen, Optimizing free-space optical sys-
tem KORUZA, MEng Project Final Report, 2015, University College
London.
[3] R. Clark, I. D. Allan, B. W. Court, T. Lindsay, L. Aronson, D. Kane,
L. Day, JDS Uniphase, J. Judkins, Micrel Semiconductor, G. Carroll,
Pine Photonics, L. Torres, Stratos Lightwave, and Madison Cable,
SFF-8472 Specification for Diagnostic Monitoring Interface for Optical
Transceivers pp.1-39, 2010.
[4] L. Mustafa, NIR pixel Prototype version 1, 2015. [Online]. Available:
https://github.com/IRNAS/NIRpixel.
[5] L. Mustafa, Simplified Arduino ADC - ESP8266 (nodemcu lua)
communication + WS2812B LEDs, 2015. [Online]. Available: https:
//github.com/IRNAS/SimpleArduinoESP-Lua.
[6] L. Mustafa, Troublemaker 3D printer, 2015. [Online]. Available: http:
//www.thingiverse.com/thing:263814.

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