Passive OFE multi-Gbps VLC transmission using POF as a feeder line

This paper presents a novel in-home communication system employing plastic optical fibers (POFs) acting both as transmission medium and access point for wireless links to user devices, hence no separate luminaires or optical-electrical-optical conversions is required. All active devices, such as lasers/detectors, can be remotely placed from the room ceilings, resulting in fully passive optical front-ends, which is beneficial for maintenance and upgrading. We approach two concepts, the first aims to realize small but high-capacity hotspots in a room, the second creates larger coverage areas to increase the number of users and allow user's mobility. The wavelength division multiplexing concept is used to maximize the wireless throughput and to serve different wireless access points on the ceilings from a single POF feeder. A transmission link comprising eye-safe transceivers, 1-mm core diameter step-index POF, and free space link, achieving multi-gigabit throughputs using spectral efficient modulation formats, is demonstrated.