Detecting WDM visible light signals by a single multi-color photodiode with MIMO processing

Area of Science:

• Optical Communications
• Signal Processing
• Photonics

Background:

• Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems offer high bandwidth potential.
• Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM) enhances spectral efficiency in optical systems.
• Traditional photodetection methods struggle with simultaneous WDM signal recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of using Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) processing for WDM-VLC signal detection.
• To show that a single photodiode can simultaneously receive and process a WDM signal.
• To validate the effectiveness of MIMO processing in recovering superimposed photocurrents.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a triple-junction photodiode for WDM signal illumination.
• Applying linear MIMO signal processing techniques to the photodiode's output.
• Conducting bit error rate (BER) measurements to assess signal integrity.

Main Results:

• Successful simultaneous detection of a WDM signal using a single photodiode.
• Exact recovery of transmitted signals through MIMO processing.
• Demonstrated effectiveness of the proposed method via BER measurements.

Conclusions:

• MIMO processing is a viable technique for overcoming photodiode limitations in WDM-VLC.
• This approach enables practical and efficient WDM-VLC systems.
• The study opens new avenues for high-capacity visible light communication.