Components Developed to Transmit Data via LEDs

New components developed as part of ongoing visible light communications research have attained high-speed data throughput rates of up to 3 Gb/s using LED ceiling lamps.

LEDs currently can be used with bandwidths around 30 MHz, but Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI) scientists have developed technical components that boost bandwidth up to 180 MHz. The higher frequency bands also are used for transmission, significantly increasing data throughput.

Researchers at Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute have developed a component that, in the future, will deliver high-speed Internet from the ceiling light. Courtesy of Business Wire.

Under laboratory conditions, the technology achieved data rates of up to 800 Mb/s using the optical wireless local area network (WLAN); a complete real-time system exhibited at trade fairs reached 500 Mb/s. The components enabled a transmission rate of 1 Gb/s per single light frequency. Using the three light frequencies exhibited by off-the-shelf LEDs, this translates to speeds of up to 3 Gb/s.

Developing the components as modules will make them suitable for customized integration in technology developments such as car-to-x communication, which exchanges information wirelessly between vehicles and between vehicles and transport infrastructure. The system also could be used in places where WLAN is not desirable, including hospitals, trade shows and factory halls.

The components will be presented this week at FOE (Fiber Optic Expo) 2013 in Tokyo.

For more information about visible light communication, see: LEDs Transfer Optical Data to Mobile Devices.

For more information, visit: www.hhi.fraunhofer.de