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Received 25 September 2018; revised 29 November 2018; accepted 11 December 2018; posted 3 January 2019 (Doc. ID 346799);
published 25 January 2019
We describe a means of communication in which a user that does not require a medium other than air. This technique,
with no external receiver hears an audible audio message known as laser-induced plasma effect (LIPE), uses a laser to
directed only at him/her. A laser transmits the message, ionize the air, creating a plasma and ultimately a sound near
which is encoded upon a modulated laser beam and sent the end receiver [3]. Physical Optics Corporation is currently
directly to the receiver’s ear via the photoacoustic effect. developing this technique primarily for military use. The use of
A 1.9 μm thulium laser matched to an atmospheric water ionizing radiation for producing sound, as well as the need for
vapor absorption line is chosen to maximize sound pressure very high-power lasers are safety concerns for the viability of
while maintaining eye-safe power densities. We examine the this approach.
photoacoustic transfer function describing this generation Limited work has been performed examining the use of mi-
of audible sound and the important operational parameters, crowaves to stimulate sound directly in a user [4,5]. However,
such as laser spot size, and their impact on a working the communication has been limited to barely audible clicks
system. © 2019 Optical Society of America (no complex messages) due to the inefficiencies in the transmis-
sion through bone and tissue. Furthermore, none of the micro-
https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.44.000622
wave work has the ability to localize an individual in the
manner a laser-based photoacoustic communications system
does. Underwater photoacoustic communication has also been
explored [6].
The ability to communicate with a specific subject at a pre- Phased array acoustic systems (e.g., Audio Spotlight by
scribed location who lacks any communication equipment
Holosonics) and nonlinear frequency conversion (e.g., Long
opens up many intriguing possibilities. Communication across
Range Acoustic Devices by LRAD Corp) have also been used
noisy rooms, hail and warn applications, and localized commu-
nication directed at only the intended recipient are a few pos- for projecting sound [7,8]. However, the acoustic spot size pro-
sibilities. We demonstrate a method for localized acoustic duced by linear acoustic arrays is much larger than what is pos-
communication with a listener at long standoff distances using sible with optical conversion due to diffraction (θsound ∼ mrad,
a modulated laser transmitted toward the receiver’s ear. The op- θopt ∼ μrad). Parametric acoustic sources overcome diffraction
tically encoded information is converted into acoustic messages by transmitting higher frequency ultrasound and taking advan-
via the photoacoustic effect. The photoacoustic conversion of tage of nonlinear mixing of two beams at a range. Haupt and
the optical information into an audible signal occurs via the Rolt used such a system in a landmine detection scheme [9],
absorption of light by ambient water vapor in the near area though in theory it could be used for communication. The
of the receiver’s ear followed by airborne acoustic transmission range of such a system is limited, however, by the lossiness
to the ear. The recipient requires no external communication of high-frequency sound. Such systems have limits on the order
equipment in order to receive audible messages. We refer to this of 10 meters, much shorter than the photoacoustic communi-
means of communication as “photoacoustic communications.” cations system described here.
Alexander Graham Bell previously described a “photo- This Letter reports on two new approaches of efficiently
phone” means of using modulated light to create sound [1]. producing localized continuous-wave (CW) and pulsed sound
However, Bell’s invention never anticipated a means by which at >0 dB and distances > 2.5 m using photoacoustics in air.
the sound could be sent directly to the user without the need A schematic illustrating the two different photoacoustic com-
for an intermediary material. Later, a photoacoustic speaker was munication schemes is shown in Fig. 1. In the first method
patented [2] in which modulated laser light was shined into “a [Fig. 1(a)], an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) provides an
gas absorption chamber.” amplitude modulation of the 1.9 μm thulium laser, which pro-
Again, this device failed to anticipate the possibility of using duces CW audible signals near the receiver via the absorption of
open air as the absorbing medium. Recently, there has been light by ambient water vapor. In the second method [Fig. 1(b)],
work investigating a photoacoustic means of communication a fast-steering mirror is used to sweep the laser beam such that
Measurements of the spatial extent of the dynamic photo- audible signal, where PRF of a dynamic photoacoustic commu-
acoustic signal at a range of 2.5 m are made by placing our nications system is v∕L. This means that, for a dynamic photo-
microphone on motorized translation stages arranged such that acoustic communication system designed with a swept path
we measure the plane perpendicular to the sweep direction length of L 1 m, a single audible tone of frequency PRF
[Fig. 4(d)]. Results of these measurements are shown in 343 m∕s∕1 m 343 Hz can be produced. To increase the
Figs. 4(a) and 4(b) for 50 cm and 25 cm propagation distances, audible frequency, either the sweep length could be reduced (at
respectively. We define propagation distance as the distance be- the cost of gain), or more laser beams could be added. The laser
tween the microphone and the starting location of the laser spot size places an upper limit on the PRF, as the spot size dic-
sweep [Fig. 4(d)]. A horizontal position of 0 mm corresponds tates the lower bound on the waveform timescale. For likely op-
to a laser sweep speed equal to Mach 1. Horizontal positions > erational parameters, e.g., D 3 cm, PRF 1 kHz, ANSI
0 mm correspond to sweep speeds > Mach 1, and horizontal constraints (for eye and skin safe operation) on average power
positions < 0 mm correspond to sweep speeds < Mach 1. (100 mW∕cm2 ) are more stressing than peak fluence
Analyzing both datasets, we see a vertical separation (Δh) of (100 mJ∕cm2 ). Since average power is proportional to PRF, this
acoustic energy for sweep speeds > Mach 1. The separation dis- implies that low frequencies can be generated more loudly and
tance Δh increases linearly with Mach number as well as propa- safely than higher frequencies (everything else being equal). A
gation distance. Simple computer simulations modeling the trade study and systems engineering effort to design a dynamic
interference of spherically propagating wavefronts indicate that photoacoustic communications system with the bandwidth
the Δh separation is linear with Mach number, consistent with necessary to encode more detailed messages (e.g., spoken words,
our experimental results. The results of this simulation are music, etc.) is reserved for a later study.
shown in Fig. 4(c). The horizontal spatial extent of the photo- In summary, we have demonstrated the use of a 1.9 μm thu-
acoustic signal becomes larger at longer standoff ranges because lium laser to produce photoacoustic signals from the ambient
the relative Mach shifts occur at greater horizontal positions water vapor in air (50% RH), with sound pressure levels well
due to simple geometry. We confirmed this behavior at into the audible regime (SPL > 0 dB) while using eye-safe laser
10 m standoff range for which we measured a photoacoustic powers. We also demonstrated the use of dynamic photoacous-
signal proportionally larger along the horizontal axis. tics to amplify the signal beyond what is possible with tradi-
There is a tradeoff between sweep length (which directly cor- tional photoacoustic techniques. The methods described
responds to gain) and pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of the here provide new opportunities for development of photo-
acoustic communications systems capable of delivering audible
messages to subjects who lack any communication equipment.
REFERENCES
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2,354,96A (December 14, 1880).
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Fig. 4. Measured spatial extent of the acoustic signal (mV p−p ) pro- https://www.lradx.com/product_categories/lrad_mass_notification_
duced via the dynamic photoacoustic configuration at a range of systems/.
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