Real-Time Transmission of Uncompressed High-Definition Video Via A VCSEL-Based Optical Wireless Link With Ultra-Low Latency

Real-time transmission of high-resolution video signals in an uncompressed and unencrypted format requires an ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) medium with high bandwidth to maintain the quality of experience (QoE) for users. We put forward the design and experimental demonstration of a high-performance laser-based optical wireless communication (OWC) system that enables high-definition (HD) video transmission with submillisecond latencies. The serial digital interface (SDI) output of a camera is used to transmit the live video stream over an optical wireless link by directly modulating the SDI signal on the intensity of a 940 nm vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL). The proposed SDI over light fidelity (LiFi) system corroborates error-free transmission of full HD (FHD) and 4K ultra-high-definition (UHD) resolutions at data rates of 2.97 Gb/s and 5.94 Gb/s, respectively, with a measured end-to-end latency of under 35 ns. Since SDI standards support various video formats and VCSELs are high-bandwidth and low-power devices, this presents a scalable and inexpensive solution for wireless connectivity between professional broadcast equipment using off-the-shelf SDI components.

Achieving 70 Gb/s Over A VCSEL-Based Optical Wireless Link Using A Multi-Mode Fiber-Coupled Receiver

In this paper, we demonstrate a laser-based optical wireless communication (OWC) system employing a 940 nm single-mode (SM) vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) and a multi-mode (MM) fiber-coupled receiver, achieving a record data rate beyond 70 Gb/s, while the optical transmit power is below 5 mW. The use of a high speed fiber-optic photoreceiver avoids limiting the communication bandwidth by the receiver, enabling ultra-high capacity and energy-efficient light fidelity (LiFi) links to unlock new applications. This work experimentally validates the feasibility of ultra-high speed indoor OWC systems using a single low-power and low-cost VCSEL for next-generation LiFi connectivity.