The design and advantages of a novel light emitting diode (LED) bandwidth extension technique, based on the adoption of negative impedance converters (NICs), are discussed in the context of visible light communication systems. The design principles of the proposed negative impedance converter are introduced, with analytical derivations of the impedance frequency behaviour and the circuit performance frequency limitations. A two-transistor circuit is designed to generate a negative capacitance over the range −3 to −5 nF and is experimentally demonstrated, using discrete transistors, passive elements and commercially available LED constructed on a PCB, with frequencies up to 50 MHz. NIC design considerations necessary to obtain optimum LED bandwidth extension are discussed and outlined. Measurements demonstrate advantageously the optically lossless nature of the proposed solution and that, unlike traditional passive equalization or pre-distortion based bandwidth extension techniques, substantial improvement in the LED bandwidth, of up to 400 % can be obtained without compromising the output optical power.INDEX TERMS Negative impedance converters, negative capacitance, light emitting diodes, visible light communication.AMANY KASSEM (Graduate Student Member, IEEE) received the B.Sc. degree in electrical and electronic engineering from the Queen Mary University of London, U.K., in 2015, and the M.Sc. degree in optical and wireless communications from University College London, London, U.K., in 2016, where she is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in electronic and electrical engineering. Her research interests include the development of high-speed electronic circuits including wideband amplifiers and negative impedance converters to enable higher transmission rates in optical communication systems.IZZAT DARWAZEH (Senior Member, IEEE) received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electronic engineering from the