Enyuan Xie

High Bandwidth GaN-Based Micro-LEDs for Multi-Gb/s Visible Light Communications

Gallium-nitride (GaN)-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are highly efficient sources for general purpose illumination. Visible light communications (VLC) uses these sources to supplement existing wireless communications by offering a large, licence-free region of optical spectrum. Here, we report on progress in the development of micro-scale GaN LEDs (micro-LEDs), optimized for VLC. These blue-emitting micro-LEDs are shown to have very high electrical-to-optical modulation bandwidths, exceeding 800 MHz. The data transmission capabilities of the micro-LEDs are illustrated by demonstrations using ON-OFF-keying, pulse-amplitude modulation, and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing modulation schemes to transmit data over free space at the rates of 1.7, 3.4, and 5 Gb/s, respectively.

High-Speed Integrated Visible Light Communication System: Device Constraints and Design Considerations

Visible light communications (VLC) has the potential to play a major part in future smart home and next generation communication networks. There is significant ongoing work to increase the achievable data rates using VLC, to standardize it and integrate it within existing network infrastructures. The future of VLC systems depends on the ability to fabricate low cost transceiver components and to realize the promise of high data rates. This paper reports the design and fabrication of integrated transmitter and receiver components. The transmitter uses a two dimensional individually addressable array of micro light emitting diodes (μLEDs) and the receiver uses an integrated photodiode array fabricated in a CMOS technology. A preliminary result of a MIMO system implementation operating at a data rate of 1 Gbps is demonstrated. This paper also highlights the challenges in achieving highly parallel data communication along with the possible bottlenecks in integrated approaches.

LED Based Wavelength Division Multiplexed 10 Gb/s Visible Light Communications

LED-based visible light communications can provide high data rates to users. This can be further increased by the use of wavelength division multiplexing using the different colours required to generate white light to transmit different data streams. In this paper, a trichromatic approach is described and the influence of colour combination on achievable data rate is analysed. A demonstration of LED-based communications which achieves a data rate of >10 Gb/s by using a rate adaptive orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexing scheme is also reported.

Active-Matrix GaN Micro Light-Emitting Diode Display With Unprecedented Brightness

Displays based on microsized gallium nitride light-emitting diodes possess extraordinary brightness. It is demonstrated here both theoretically and experimentally that the layout of the n-contact in these devices is important for the best device performance. We highlight, in particular, the significance of a nonthermal increase of differential resistance upon multipixel operation. These findings underpin the realization of a blue microdisplay with a luminance of 106 cd/m2.

Heterogeneous integration of gallium nitride light-emitting diodes on diamond and silica by transfer printing.

We report the transfer printing of blue-emitting micron-scale light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) onto fused silica and diamond substrates without the use of intermediary adhesion layers. A consistent Van der Waals bond was achieved via liquid capillary action, despite curvature of the LED membranes following release from their native silicon growth substrates. The excellence of diamond as a heat-spreader allowed the printed membrane LEDs to achieve optical power output density of 10 W/cm(2) when operated at a current density of 254 A/cm(2). This high-current-density operation enabled optical data transmission from the LEDs at 400 Mbit/s.

Electrical, spectral and optical performance of yellow?green and amber micro-pixelated InGaN light-emitting diodes

Micro-pixelated InGaN LED arrays operating at 560 and 600 nm, respectively, are demonstrated for what the authors believe to be the first time. Such devices offer applications in areas including bioinstrumentation, visible light communications and optoelectronic tweezers. The devices reported are based on new epitaxial structures, retaining conventional (0 0 0 1) orientation, but incorporating electron reservoir layers which enhance the efficiency of radiative combination in the active regions. A measured output optical power density up to 8 W cm−2 (4.4 W cm−2) has been achieved from a representative pixel of the yellow–green (amber) LED array, substantially higher than that from conventional broad-area reference LEDs fabricated from the same wafer material. Furthermore, these micro-LEDs can sustain a high current density, up to 4.5 kA cm−2, before thermal rollover. A significant blueshift of the emission wavelength with increasing injection current is observed, however. This blueshift saturates at 45 nm (50 nm) for the yellow–green (amber) LED array, and numerical simulations have been used to gain insight into the responsible mechanisms in this microstructured format of device. In the relatively low-current-density regime (<3.5 kA cm−2) the blueshift is attributable to both the screening of the piezoelectric field by the injected carriers and the band-filling effect, whereas in the high-current regime, it is mainly due to band-filling. Further development of the epitaxial wafer material is expected to improve the current-dependent spectral stability.

Strain relaxation in InGaN/GaN micro-pillars evidenced by high resolution cathodoluminescence hyperspectral imaging

A size-dependent strain relaxation and its effects on the optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (QWs) in micro-pillars have been investigated through a combination of high spatial resolution cathodoluminescence (CL) hyperspectral imaging and numerical modeling. The pillars have diameters (d) ranging from 2 to 150 μm and were fabricated from a III-nitride light-emitting diode (LED) structure optimized for yellow-green emission at ∼560 nm. The CL mapping enables us to investigate strain relaxation in these pillars on a sub-micron scale and to confirm for the first time that a narrow (≤2 μm) edge blue-shift occurs even for the large InGaN/GaN pillars (d > 10 μm). The observed maximum blue-shift at the pillar edge exceeds 7 nm with respect to the pillar centre for the pillars with diameters in the 2–16 μm range. For the smallest pillar (d = 2 μm), the total blue-shift at the edge is 17.5 nm including an 8.2 nm “global” blue-shift at the pillar centre in comparison with the unetched wafer. By ...

μLED-Based Single-Wavelength Bi-directional POF Link With 10 Gb/s Aggregate Data Rate

We report record 10 Gb/s bi-directional data transmission over a single 10 m SI-POF, by employing blue microlight-emitting diodes (μLEDs) at a single wavelength, APD receivers, and a PAM-32 modulation scheme. The implementation of 10 Gb/s LED-POF links takes advantage of the bi-directional configuration, which doubles the overall channel capacity, and APDs, which provide an enhanced link power budget owing to their improved sensitivity compared with conventional p-i-n photodiodes. Moreover, the high spectral efficiency of the PAM-32 modulation scheme employed, together with equalization techniques, enable the full utilization of the link bandwidth and the transmission of data rates higher than those obtained with conventional on-off keying. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of such a bi-directional link, and simultaneous 5 Gb/s data transmission is realized in each direction, achieving an aggregate data rate of 10 Gb/s with a BER <; 10-3. The crosstalk penalty between the two directions of the link is measured to be less than 0.5 dB.

Imaging-MIMO visible light communication system using μLEDs and integrated receiver

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission can be used to increase the throughput of visible light communication (VLC) systems. This approach is highly compatible with the use of arrays of micro light emitting diodes (μLEDs). In this work, we demonstrate an imaging-MIMO VLC system using a two dimensional individually addressable array of μLEDs and an integrated CMOS-based receiver. An aggregate data rate of -920 Mbps is realized using four parallel channels at a link distance of 1 m. Further improvement in the data rates is feasible by optimizing the system components and operating conditions.

Integrated multiple-input multiple-output visible light communications systems: recent progress and results

Solid state lighting systems typically use multiple Light Emitting Diode (LED) die within a single lamp, and multiple lamps within a coverage space. This infrastructure forms the transmitters for Visible Light Communications (VLC), and the availability of low-cost detector arrays offers the possibility of building Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transmission systems. Different approaches to optical MIMO are being investigated as part of a UK government funded research programme, ‘Ultra-Parallel Visible Light Communications’ (UPVLC). In this paper we present a brief review of the area and report results from systems that use integrated subsystems developed as part of the project. The scalability of these approaches and future directions will also be discussed.