Visible Light Communication System Technology Review: Devices, Architectures, and Applications

Abstract

Visible light communication (VLC) is an advanced, highly developed optical wireless communication (OWC) technology that can simultaneously provide lighting and high-speed wireless data transmission. A VLC system has several key advantages: ultra-high data rate, secure communication channels, and a lack of interference from electromagnetic (EM) waves, which enable a wide range of applications. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been considered the optimal choice for VLC systems since they can provide excellent illumination performance. However, the quantum confinement Stark effect (QCSE), crystal orientation, carrier lifetime, and recombination factor will influence the modulation bandwidth, and the transmission performance is severely limited. To solve the insufficient modulation bandwidth, micro-LEDs (μ-LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs) are considered as new ideal light sources. Additionally, the development of modulation technology has dramatically increased the transmission capacity of the system. The performance of the VLC system is briefly discussed in this review article, as well as some of its prospective applications in the realms of the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), vehicle communications, and underwater wireless network applications.

Node-Block based Topology Control Algorithm for Mobile Optical Wireless Communication Networks

“…With an increasingly extensive application scenario, optical wireless communication (OWC) has attracted more and more attentions due to high bandwidth, resistance to electromagnetic interference, high security, flexible networking, etc. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. With the increasing demand for Quality of Service (QoS) and capacity of mobile communications, it is attractive to construct OWC networks to guarantee timely multi-user communications.…”

Design, Implementation and Experimental Investigation of a Pedestrian Street Crossing Assistance System Based on Visible Light Communications

“…Visible light communications (VLC) are a relatively new wireless communications technology in which the information is modulated onto the optical carrier of visible light [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. This unique feature makes VLC a dual-purpose technology that can simultaneously support lighting and data communication.…”

“…As well known, SSL light sources are extremely energy-efficient, benefit from an extended lifetime that can reach up to 50,000 h, and have switching times that tend to go down to ns values [ 6 , 7 ], enabling in turn very high data rates [ 8 ]. Thus, the VLC technology has the potential to transform any LED light source into a data broadcasting unit [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 ]. On the receiver side, VLC assumes the direct detection of the incident light with the help of fast response time optical detectors, usually positive intrinsic negative (PIN) photodiodes with nanoseconds response times.…”

Performance Analyses of Photonic-Crystal Surface-Emitting Laser: Toward High-Speed Optical Communication

“…However, VLC inevitably exhibits several shortcomings, such as the visual interference with constant light emission and short transmission range caused by the incoherent LEDs. Optical communication with near-infrared (NIR) light sources emerges to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks [10,11]. Moreover, an unsurpassed lasing action from the surface-emitting laser, namely the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), was demonstrated in 1988, pushing forward in various applications with its unique characteristics and performance [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”