Open AccessFlexible photoluminescent waveguide amplifiers to improve visible light communication platforms
Author(s) -
Bastos Ana R. N.,
McKenna Barry,
Silvério Tiago,
Carlos Luís D.,
André Paulo S.,
Evans Rachel C.,
Ferreira Rute A. S.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iet optoelectronics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.379
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1751-8776
pISSN - 1751-8768
DOI - 10.1049/iet-opt.2020.0026
Subject(s) - optoelectronics , amplifier , visible light communication , materials science , waveguide , photoluminescence , visible spectrum , optical amplifier , computer science , electronic engineering , optics , light emitting diode , physics , engineering , cmos , laser
Commercial light‐emitting diodes are a low‐cost and energy‐efficient solution for the implementation of optical wireless communication, known as visible light communication (VLC). This technology has a huge growing interest, being recently a research spotlight in the scientific community, especially due to the increasing popularity and rapid development of self‐sustainable smart houses and the Internet of Things. As the VLC link is free space, big challenges arise in its implementation. To improve the VLC performance, this work proposes an enhanced system solution integrating an optical amplifier. In this context, organic–inorganic hybrids incorporating a blue‐emitting conjugated polymer with high quantum yield (>50%) were synthesised and processed as planar waveguides. The waveguides were tested in a testbed scenario, showing a signal amplitude improvement of 2.5 dB, establishing the proposed approach as a promising cost‐effective solution for optical amplification in VLCs.