Indoor VLC system with multiple LEDs of different path lengths employing space-time block-coded DMT/CAP modulation [invited]

We experimentally demonstrate a practical visible light communication (VLC) system of 3.2-m transmission using spectrally efficient discrete multitone (DMT) or carrierless amplitude phase (CAP) modulation. The transmitters consist of two light emitting diodes (LEDs) spaced 2 m apart, the arrangement of which corresponds to a common case for full-range illumination in indoor environments, and this work also investigates the influence of the difference in transmission path lengths from the LEDs to a single receiver. In the overlapped illumination area, the delay interference between the LEDs could result in up to about 40% capacity reduction using quaternary CAP or bit-loaded DMT signals, when two LEDs simply transmit the same signal. To mitigate the impact of the delay interference, Alamouti space-time block coding (STBC) is employed for both DMT and CAP signals, and the combination of CAP and STBC is proposed for the first time to the authors´ best knowledge. Employing STBC, we successfully demonstrate interference-tolerant VLC over 3.2-m air transmission, and the maximum data rates for DMT and CAP signals are 220 and 150 Mbps, respectively.