Optical wireless communication (OWC) is an emerging area where research and development are growing worldwide. The radio-frequency (RF) spectral resource in traditional communication band has been exhausted, and frequency allocation will be a big issue, particularly for the future 6G networks. The non-terrestrial-networks (NTN) in 6G introduce new applications, such as automatic logistics with drones, satellite communication, underwater communication, etc, making OWC inevitable for such ultra-broadband and secure wireless transmissions. This tutorial covers the recent advances and future perspectives in OWC, free-space-optical (FSO) communication and sensing, from devices to applications.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been deployed for various applications in our daily lives. Similarly, image sensors or cameras integrated into mobile phones have become common. Hence, visible light communication (VLC) using LED and mobile phone cameras is attractive and provides low-cost wireless communication. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate a VLC system using color-shift-keying (CSK) modulation and code-division multiple-access (CDMA) technology simultaneously for the first time; a mobile phone camera is used as the receiver (Rx). CSK is used to enhance the VLC system capacity and to mitigate the single color light interference, whereas CDMA allows multiple users to access the network. The system design and operation mechanism of the proposed CSK-CDMA VLC system are discussed. A proof-of-concept demonstration is performed, and error-free transmission is achieved for multiple-access users. A 3-dB transmission gain is also obtained in each user when compared with the traditional on-off keying (OOK) modulation.

Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors are widely used in mobile-phone and cameras. Hence, it is attractive if these image sensors can be used as the visible light communication (VLC) receivers (Rxs). However, using these CMOS image sensors are challenging. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a VLC link using mobile-phone camera with data rate higher than frame rate of the CMOS image sensor. We first discuss and analyze the features of using CMOS image sensor as VLC Rx, including the rolling shutter effect, overlapping of exposure time of each row of pixels, frame-to-frame processing time gap, and also the image sensor “blooming” effect. Then, we describe the procedure of synchronization and demodulation. This includes file format conversion, grayscale conversion, column matrix selection avoiding blooming, polynomial fitting for threshold location. Finally, the evaluation of bit-error-rate (BER) is performed satisfying the forward error correction (FEC) limit.

Visible Light Communication (VLC) technology is an emerging technology using visible light modulation that, in the modern world, will mainly facilitate high-speed internet connectivity. VLC provides tremendous advantages compared to conventional radio frequency, such as a higher transmission rate, high bandwidth, low-power consumption, no health hazards, less interference, etc., which make it more prominent in recent days. Due to their outstanding features, including low cost, low power consumption, etc., µ-light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have gained considerable attention for VLC implementation, but mostly for the ability to be used for lighting as well as communications. In this review paper, we will focus mainly on recent developments in VLC applications and various factors affecting the modulation bandwidth of VLC devices. Numerous factors, such as quantum confined stark effect (QCSE), carrier lifetime, carrier recombination time, crystal orientation, etc. affect the modulation bandwidth of LEDs, and more information will be discussed in the following sections. This paper will focus on VLC applications based on LEDs but mainly on semipolar μ-LEDs and μ-LED-based arrays with high bandwidths. Another important application of VLC is underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC), which has drawn a huge interest in marine exploration and underwater connectivity, but still faces some challenges because visible light is being used. In addition, this paper will focus on how the current VLC system modulation bandwidth can be enhanced. Many methods have been introduced, such as decreasing the active layer thickness or effective active area or using doping, but the bandwidth is restricted by the recombination time when the system configuration reaches its limit. Therefore, it is important to find alternative ways such as optimizing the system, using the blue filter or using the equalization technology, which will be addressed later. Overall, this review paper provides a brief overview of the VLC-based system performance and some of its potential prospects.

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