CRII: NeTS: Towards Ultra-High-Speed Mobile Visible Light Communication

基于射频的无线通信在我们的现代社会中发挥着巨大的作用。然而，无线数据通信量的显著增长已经开始需要扩大用于无线通信的频率范围。可见光通信（VLC），光被用作通信媒介，近年来由于其超高速的潜力而引起了极大的关注。然而，随着VLC的快速发展，到目前为止实现的通信速度比其潜在的每秒太比特（Tbps）容量要低几个数量级。目前迫切需要在VLC数据速率方面取得突破，本项目试图通过一种新颖的系统架构来支持超高数据速率。该项目将利用行业会议来传播成果，并提供各种吸引高中生和本科生的教育活动。该项目向社区提供了一个实验性的VLC工具包，并将硬件、软件实现和生成的数据提供给公众。理论模型估计VLC信息容量为Tbps的数量级，然而，接收器设计的实际限制使最先进的VLC原型的数据速率降低了几个数量级。为了实现高速接收，本项目将光电二极管的快速采样特性和成像阵列结构的隔噪特性结合成一个统一的结构，模拟高速图像传感接收器。本课题设计了一种新型的VLC接收器架构，集成了光电二极管和作为像素化快门的LCD阵列。通过这种统一的设计，接收器在阵列上选择发射信号检测的精确区域，从而将实际光信号与到达光电二极管的环境噪声隔离开来，从而大大提高了信噪比（SNR）。信号隔离和信噪比增强是通过液晶阵列上的选择性信号接收和跟踪的时空机制实现的。为了获得更大的接收视野，接收器配备了一个180度全景镜头。该项目开发了一个模型来理解空间移动性与光信号在阵列上的位置及其强度之间的关系，并为设计信号跟踪机制以解决高速VLC系统中的移动性设置了基线。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Radio frequency-based wireless communications plays a huge role in our modern society. However, the significant growth in the wireless data traffic has initiated the need for expanding the range of frequencies used for wireless communication. Visible Light Communication (VLC), where light is used as a medium for communication, has garnered significant attention over recent years due to its potential for ultra-high speeds. However, with rapid advancements in VLC, the communication speeds achieved so far are orders of magnitude less than its potential Terabits-per-second (Tbps) capacity. There is an urgent need for a breakthrough in VLC data speeds, and this project attempts to move toward it through a novel system architecture to support ultra-high data rates. The project will take advantage of industry meetings to disseminate outcomes and provides a variety of appealing educational activities involving high school and undergraduate students. This project makes an experimental VLC kit available to the community and makes the hardware, software implementation and data generated available to the public.Theoretical models estimate VLC information capacity to be of the order of Tbps, however, practical limitations in receiver designs have limited state-of-the-art VLC prototypes to data rates that are lower by orders of magnitude. To achieve high-speed reception, this project combines the fast sampling nature of photodiodes and the noise isolation property of imaging array structures into a unified structure that emulates a high-speed image sensing receiver. This project designs a novel VLC receiver architecture integrating a photodiode and an LCD array that acts as a pixelated shutter. Through this unified design, the receiver selects the exact area over which the transmitted signal is detected on the array, thus isolating actual light signal from ambient noise reaching the photodiode, resulting in a dramatic increase in the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). The signal isolation and SNR enhancement is enabled by the spatio-temporal mechanisms for selective signal reception and tracking on the LCD array. To achieve a larger field-of-view for reception, the receiver is fit with an 180-degree panoramic lens. This project develops a model to understand the relationship between spatial mobility and the light signal's location on the array and its strength and sets a baseline for designing signal tracking mechanisms to address mobility in high-speed VLC systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.