Next-Generation Optical Wireless Communication (OWC)

Dear Colleagues,

In order to meet the needs of newly developed, next-generation mobile communications, optical wireless communications (OWC), terahertz communications, and millimeter-wave communications are being considered promising candidates for short/medium-distance high-speed access. Different from the previous generation of point-to-point visible light communication (VLC) systems, the next generation of OWC systems is expected to have a higher data rate, multi-user access, full-duplex communication, white-lighting illumination, and other characteristics that can support the requirements of future 6G applications.

In this Special Issue, we will discuss various key enabling technologies in OWC, including but not limited to material growth, device fabrication, communication system, modeling and algorithm design, and otherwise. As a highly cross-cutting and interdisciplinary research direction, the combination of different technologies can provide customized results to accelerate OWC for 6G practical applications. With the growth of data traffic and the development of the semiconductor lighting industry, we believe OWC, as an emerging wireless communication method, is going to become an important supplement to wireless radio frequency communication in free space and acoustic wave communication in underwater environments.

This Special Issue shall focus on representing a broad range of optical wireless communication applications focused on 6G as well as other disciplines, from both academic research and industry application perspectives. We welcome any types of articles, including review, research, and communication. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Optical wireless communication (OWC);
• Free-space optical communication (FSO);
• Visible light communication (VLC);
• Underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC);
• Visible light positioning (VLP);
• Optical camera communication (OCC);
• VLC system based on micro–nano devices;
• New structure LED and photodetectors;
• Luminescent materials for white lighting;
• Optical components or integrating techniques;
• Silicon optical chip and its application in OWC systems;
• Optical beam forming or steering techniques;
• Energy-harvesting OWC systems;
• Low-cost VCSEL for OWC uplink systems;
• Real-time VLC systems based on FPGA;
• New multiple access techniques for multi-user VLC systems;
• Novel encryption, modulation, and coding algorithms;
• Optical–orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (O-OFDM);
• Spatial channel modelling for OWC.

Prof. Dr. Changyuan Yu
Dr. Hongyan Fu
Guest Editors

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