Toward 6 Gbps real-time laser-based white visible light communication enabled by pilot-aided clock synchronization

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Wireless Communication
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Visible Light Communication (VLC) integrates illumination and data transmission, positioning it as a key technology for future Beyond 5G/6G wireless networks.
• Existing VLC systems face challenges with transmission errors due to frequency offsets between transceivers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a high-speed, real-time phosphorescent laser-based white VLC system.
• To propose and validate a novel Pilot-Aided Clock Synchronization (PCSN) scheme to mitigate transmission errors.
• To achieve record-breaking data rates for real-time white VLC systems.

Main Methods:

• Development of a miniaturized demo board (10x10 cm) integrating a phosphorescent laser-based white VLC system.
• Implementation of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (QAM-OFDM) on a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).
• Proposal and application of a Pilot-Aided Clock Synchronization (PCSN) scheme utilizing an approximate harmonic mean for frequency offset compensation.

Main Results:

• Real-time VLC links achieved 4.69 Gbps at 1.5m, 4.55 Gbps at 10m, and 4 Gbps at 19.6m with a 16QAM-OFDM and PCSN scheme, all below the Forward Error Correction (FEC) limit.
• A bit-loading scheme enhanced the data rate to 6 Gbps at 10m, a ~31.87% improvement over fixed 16QAM.
• The demonstrated system achieved the highest reported data rate for real-time white VLC systems.

Conclusions:

• The proposed phosphorescent laser-based white VLC system with PCSN offers a viable solution for high-speed wireless communication.
• The system's ability to achieve high data rates over significant distances makes it a strong candidate for next-generation wireless networks.
• The integration of advanced modulation and synchronization techniques pushes the boundaries of VLC performance.