Experimental demonstration of non-line-of-sight visible light communication with different reflecting materials using a GaN-based micro-LED and modified IEEE 802.11ac

Abstract

This paper gives an experimental demonstration of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) visible light communication (VLC) using a single 80 μm gallium nitride (GaN) based micro-light-emitting diode (micro-LED). This device shows a 3-dB electrical-to-optical modulation bandwidth of 92.7 MHz. IEEE 802.11ac modulation scheme with 80 MHz bandwidth, as an entry level of the fifth generation of Wi-Fi, was employed to use the micro-LED bandwidth efficiently. These practical techniques were successfully utilized to achieve a demonstration of line-of-sight (LOS) VLC at a speed of 433 Mbps and a bit error rate (BER) of 10−5 with a free space transmit distance 3.6 m. Besides this, we demonstrated directed NLOS VLC links based on mirror reflections with a data rate of 433 Mbps and a BER of 10−4. For non-directed NLOS VLC using a print paper as the reflection material, 16 QAM, 195 Mbps data rate, and a BER of 10−5 were achieved.