Optical Wireless Communications Technologies for 5G and Beyond Networks

Dear Colleagues,

There has been an unprecedented growth in various aspects of wireless technologies for the effective support of different use cases considering their associated stringent requirements. For instance, to ensure the enhanced performance and support a massive number of devices, 5G systems exploit massive multiple-input multiple-output (m-MIMO) antennas and millimeter-wave (mm-wave) with beamforming technologies. Nevertheless, the radio-frequency (RF)-based wireless technologies' transmission speeds are constrained by the regulated/congested RF spectrum. In this context, the required full connectivity of future networks may be challenging for 5G systems, prompting the shift in research attention towards wireless communications beyond 5G. Based on this, 6G is envisaged to leverage a much wider spectrum of the visible light communication (VLC) and Terahertz bands.

Furthermore, there have been notable technological advancements in optical communications to ensure an exceptional quality of service (QoS). For instance, optical wireless communication (OWC) systems such as VLC and free-space optical (FSO) are attractive broadband access technologies that can address the prevailing “last mile” challenges in the access network. In addition, due to its relative advantages such as improved capacity, reduced time-to-market, inherent security, ease of deployment, license-free operation, low power consumption, low-mass equipment, and immunity to electromagnetic interference, OWC can be an alternative and/or complementary technology to its RF counterparts. Despite its diverse advantages, some factors such as adverse weather conditions, lighting constraints, building sway, user mobility, atmospheric turbulence-induced fading, and the need for stringent pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) hinders its extensive use in real-life scenarios.

This Special Issue aims to offer an in-depth discussion on the 5G and Beyond OWC for indoor, outdoor, and underwater applications. In this context, the prospective authors are invited to present their research work regarding perspectives for network requirements and transmission techniques that are imperative to improve the performance of the future OWC.

The topics for Beyond 5G OWC include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Advanced coding, modulation, detection, and multiple access techniques;
• Innovative photonic devices and components;
• Mm-wave and MIMO architectures;
• Transceiver design/optimization;
• PHY, MAC, and cross-layer designs;
• Terahertz bands;
• Optical links for space applications.

Dr. Isiaka Ajewale Alimi
Prof. Dr. Paulo Monteiro
Prof. Dr. Nelson Muga
Guest Editors

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• 5G and beyond networks
• atmospheric turbulence
• diversity techniques/ relay-assisted transmission
• free-space optical
• hybrid RF/FSO networks
• innovative PAT
• optical camera communications
• outage probability/ergodic capacity
• system model/channel characterization
• visible light communications