A Space-frequency Power Allocation Algorithm for MIMO OWC Systems over Low-Pass Channels

In the last two decades, an unprecedented spread of communication systems has been witnessed. While at the beginning these systems were only able to support a small number of devices with limited data services, they have now matured to high speed networks that are densely populated. Society is increasingly connected, with different types of applications running on, by now Billions of devices, and this trend drives the use of communication systems. The growth is so fast that the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum is already overcrowded. In future, it is expected that many applications will require speeds far beyond a Gbit/s. In order to achieve this capacity and, at the same time, to off load the pressure on RF systems, higher spectral bands and optical frequencies are currently being explored.Exploring higher frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, optical wireless communication (OWC) systems have recently gained great interest [1,2]. Due its many advantages, such as low cost, high energy efficiency, and minimal heat generation, LEDs are commonly used for illumination and are strong candidates to drive data transmission in OWC systems [2-4]. However, the modulation bandwidth of this source is limited and there is still the need to increase data throughput [4,5]. An alternative is to deploy multiple LEDs in a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) scheme [2-6]. MIMO is a well-known technology which explores the additional spatial dimension in order to provide a degree-of-freedom gain. By transmitting multiple data-streams over the light channel in a Spatial Multiplexing (SM) scheme from multiple spatially separated locations, Distributed-MIMO technology offers higher data throughput without the need of additional power or bandwidth. An important additional advantage of MIMO in OWC systems is that communication still works even when one line-of-sight link is blocked. In further boosting the bits rate, the low-pass frequency response of the LEDs poses further limitations. The low-pass behaviour of this source was pointed out in [6-9], but its impact on the performance of LED-based MIMO OWC systems still not fully addressed. To compensate the low-pass effect, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is often used. OFDM is a robust and effective technology commonly used in RF systems to suppress inter-symbol interference (ISI) and to convert a frequency-selective fading channel into multiple parallel flat-fading, i.e., non-dispersive channels. In an OFDM scheme the spectrum bandwidth is divided into a set of orthogonal subcarriers in order to support high data rates through parallel transmission. By using OFDM, power loading strategies can be used to appropriately distribute power over the subcarriers in order to reduce the performance degradation caused by the low-pass effect of the LEDs [8]. Different power loading strategies are proposed to allocate power resources in the frequency domain, mainly the uniform loading and the optimized waterfilling loading [6-8]. In this paper, we consider the transmission mode of an indoor LED-based MIMO OWC system with SM and OFDM. We present an analytical model for the channel and we derive expressions for the achievable rate of the system considering common low-pass channel frequency responses: Gaussian, exponential and first-order [6-9]. Based on an indoor LED-based MIMO OWC setup, we investigate through analytical and simulation results the system performance for different power loading strategies. Through simulation results, we point out that the resource allocation optimization only in the frequency domain may not be satisfactory and we propose a new algorithm that considers both spatial and frequency domains to load power over the MIMO channels and OFDM subcarriers. With the singular value decomposition (SVD) applied to the channel frequency response matrix, the proposed space-frequency power allocation algorithm allocates more power to subchannels with larger gains considering all subchannels available for transmission in space and frequency domains.<br/

Run time acceleration for adaptive algorithm for OFDM bit-loading for OWC channels

Effective power and bit loading strategies are indispensable for mitigating throughput losses attributed to the low-pass frequency response of the light emitting diodes (LED)s and photodiodes (PD)s in optical wireless communication (OWC) systems. To enable the widespread adoption of a high-speed wireless technology using LEDs, the development of precise, computation-friendly algorithms is required. Although expressions for the power allocation in a continuous channel exist, these show to not be the most appropriate in real scenarios as the OWC chipsets are digital devices with finite precision. Moreover, response of the transimpedance amplifiers (TIA)s shows to distort the power spectrum density of the noise, a factor often assumed to be flat in existing expressions. In this research, we delve into the adaptation and acceleration of an iterative algorithm in the past used in radio frequency (RF) systems to optimize performance of LED-based OWC systems. The strategy shows to be efficient, less computationally demanding then commonly used optimization solvers and it intrinsically consider the finite precision of the chipsets

Model and Methodology to Characterize Phosphor-Based White LED Visible Light Communication Links

[EN] LED lighting has become the standard solution for illumination purposes thanks to its energy efficiency. Nowadays, there is growing interest in the use of LEDs for data transmission to develop future-generation communication systems. The low cost and widespread deployment of phosphor-based white LEDs make them the best candidate for visible light communications (VLC), although they have a limited modulation bandwidth. This paper presents a simulation model of a VLC link based on phosphor-based white LEDs and a method to characterize the VLC setup used to perform the data transmission experiments. Specifically, the simulation model incorporates the frequency response of the LED, the noise levels coming from the lighting source and the acquisition electronics, and the attenuation due to both the propagation channel and the angular misalignment between the lighting source and the photoreceiver. In order to validate the suitability of the model for VLC, carrierless amplitude phase (CAP) and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation signals were employed for data transmission, and simulations with the proposed model and measurements over the equivalent scenario show high agreement.This research was funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; by the European Union's "ERDF A way of making Europe" grant numbers PID2021-126514OB-I00 and RTI2018-101296-B-I00; and by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades para la Formacion de Profesorado Universitario, grant number FPU19/04648.Salvador-Llàcer, P.; Almenar Terre, V.; Corral, JL.; Valls Coquillat, J.; Canet Subiela, MJ. (2023). Model and Methodology to Characterize Phosphor-Based White LED Visible Light Communication Links. Sensors. 23(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/s23104637231

Sub-carrier loading strategies for DCO-OFDM LED communication

LEDs, particularly those used for Visible Light Communications (VLC), have a limited bandwidth, while above their 3 dB bandwidth, the roll-off is relatively gentle. If the modulation bandwidth would be limited to the 3 dB LED bandwidth, the achievable rate would be unacceptably constrained. Hence, effective communication systems need to optimize the use of bandwidth significantly above this 3 dB point. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a popular method to fine-tune the amount of power and constellation as a function of the channel response over different frequencies. Various power and bit loading strategies have been proposed and simulated in literature, but their performance was not captured in expressions. This manuscript derives these for optimal waterfilling, uniform and pre-emphasized power loading for the LED channel, that severely attenuates high frequencies. We also investigate the influence of practical discrete constellations and verify our new results experimentally. Interestingly, simple uniform loading only falls less than 1∼2% short of the throughput achieved by waterfilling, but when we restrict OFDM to discrete QAM constellation sizes, the penalty for uniform loading is 1.5 dB. Inspired by the good performance of uniform power loading, we propose an algorithm to find the best discrete bit loading for uniform power within an optimized band. As pre-emphasis is nonetheless attractive because a flattened channel does not need adaptive sub-carrier loading, we quantify its penalty. This can be modest provided that the system can adapt its transmit bandwidth, thereby adaptively switching upper sub-carriers to zero power

Sub-carrier loading strategies for DCO-OFDM LED communication

LEDs, particularly those used for Visible Light Communications (VLC), have a limited bandwidth, while above their 3 dB bandwidth, the roll-off is relatively gentle. If the modulation bandwidth would be limited to the 3 dB LED bandwidth, the achievable rate would be unacceptably constrained. Hence, effective communication systems need to optimize the use of bandwidth significantly above this 3 dB point. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a popular method to fine-tune the amount of power and constellation as a function of the channel response over different frequencies. Various power and bit loading strategies have been proposed and simulated in literature, but their performance was not captured in expressions. This manuscript derives these for optimal waterfilling, uniform and pre-emphasized power loading for the LED channel, that severely attenuates high frequencies. We also investigate the influence of practical discrete constellations and verify our new results experimentally. Interestingly, simple uniform loading only falls less than 1∼2% short of the throughput achieved by waterfilling, but when we restrict OFDM to discrete QAM constellation sizes, the penalty for uniform loading is 1.5 dB. Inspired by the good performance of uniform power loading, we propose an algorithm to find the best discrete bit loading for uniform power within an optimized band. As pre-emphasis is nonetheless attractive because a flattened channel does not need adaptive sub-carrier loading, we quantify its penalty. This can be modest provided that the system can adapt its transmit bandwidth, thereby adaptively switching upper sub-carriers to zero power