FREE SPACE OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS OPTICAL PHASED ARRAY REPEATER, DISTRIBUTION NODE AND OPTICAL DATA AGGREGATOR

1 . A method of retransmitting signals, the method comprising:

receiving, by a first optical phased array (OPA) of a device, an optical signal from a remote device;

amplifying, by one or more amplifiers of the device, the optical signal in the optical domain; and

retransmitting, by a second OPA of the device, the optical signal to one or more remote devices without converting the optical signal from the optical domain.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the optical signal is a first optical signal; and

the method further includes receiving, by the first OPA of the device, a plurality of optical signals.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising retransmitting, the second OPA of the device, the plurality of optical signals to the one or more remote devices without converting the plurality of optical signals from the optical domain.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the retransmitting the plurality of optical signals includes retransmitting the plurality of optical signals as a single signal.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first OPA and the second OPA are a single OPA.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising encoding, by one or more processors of the device, additional information onto the optical signal prior to retransmission.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the first OPA of the device, the optical signal from the first OPA to the second OPA.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the optical signal is transmitted from the first OPA to the second OPA through free space.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising retransmitting, by the second OPA of the device, a second optical signal to the one or more remote devices.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the optical signal and the second optical signal include the same signal information.

11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

receiving, by the first OPA of the device, the second optical signal;

wherein the optical signal and the second optical signal include different signal information.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first OPA and the second OPA are bidirectional OPAs.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the amplifying occurs prior to the receiving of the optical signal by the first OPA.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the amplifying occurs after the retransmitting of the optical signal by the second OPA.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the amplifying occurs after the receiving of the optical signal by the first OPA.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the amplifying occurs prior to the retransmitting of the optical signal by the second OPA.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the optical signal is received, by the first OPA, from the remote device through one or more optical fibers.

18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the optical signal is retransmitted, by the second OPA, to the one or more remote devices through one or more optical fibers.

19 . A device comprising:

a first optical phased array (OPA) configured to receive optical signals from a first optical fiber bundle and transmit optical signals to a second OPA through free space without converting the optical signals from the optical domain;

the second OPA configured to receive optical signals from the first OPA and transmit signals to a second optical fiber bundle without converting the optical signals from the optical domain;

a first amplifier array operatively coupled to the first OPA, the first amplifier array configured to amplify signals passing therethrough; and

a second amplifier array operatively coupled to the second amplifier array configured to amplify signals passing therethrough.

20 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the first OPA and the second OPA are segmented OPAs each including a plurality of segments configured to transmit signals in conjunction or individually.