VISIBLE LIGHT

COMMUNICATION IN 6G
Advances, Challenges, and Prospects

O
OT
PH
E-
IC
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CK
TO
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TE
HUT
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Nan Chi,
Yingjun Zhou,
Yiran Wei, and
Fangchen Hu

6
G networks are expected to provide extremely high
capacity and satisfy emerging applications, but
current frequency bands may not be sufficient.
Moreover, 6G will provide superior coverage by
integrating space/air/underwater networks with terrestri-
al networks, given that traditional wireless communica-
tions are not able to provide high-speed data rates for
nonterrestrial networks. Visible light communication
(VLC) is a high-speed communication technique with an
unlicensed frequency range of 400–800 THz and can be
adopted as an alternative approach to solving these prob-
lems. In this article, we present the prospects and chal-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MVT.2020.3017153
Date of current version: 29 September 2020
lenges of VLC in 6G in conjunction with its advances in
high-speed transmissions. Recent hot research interests,
including new materials and devices, advanced modula-
tion, underwater VLC (UVLC), and signal processing
based on machine learning, are also discussed. It is envis-
aged that VLC will become an indispensable part of 6G
given its high-speed transmission advantages and will
cooperate with other communication methods to benefit
our daily lives.
Overview
Following the commercial deployment of 5G at the end
of 2019, research efforts on 6G are now being carried
out in different countries and organizations. The Inter-
national Telecommunication Union established a

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VLC utilizes ultrahigh bandwidths within
the frequency range of 400–800 THz,
which is many orders of magnitude greater
than the radio-frequency bandwidth.
Network 2030 focus group with the aim to explore tech-
nological development for 2030 and beyond. 6G net-
works are supposed to provide better performance
than 5G and satisfy emerging services for Industry 4.0,
personalized health, virtual presence, and other chal-
lenging applications. Thus, 6G is expected to support
transmission rates 100–1,000 times higher than those
for 5G [1]. A bandwidth up to 6 GHz has been adopted
by 2G, 3G, and 4G, while 5G utilizes the range lower
than 6 GHz as efficiently as possible by combining
24–100 GHz [1]. Nevertheless, researchers have realized
that this range may not be adequate to meet growing
demand based on the current frequency bands. Accord-
ingly, it will be necessary to surpass 100 GHz for 6G and
explore different frequency sources to solve the prob-
lem of the scarce spectrum.
VLC employs unlicensed bands and high transmis-
sion rates. Correspondingly, it is a promising technique
intended to replace conventional wireless local area net-
works for indoor communications because people spend
more than 80% of their time indoors. Compared with oth-
er optical wireless communication technologies, such as
infrared communication, VLC is preferable because it
VLC Links
Space Networks
Air Networks
Underwater Networks
Figure 1 The applications of VLC in space, air, underwater, indoor, and car networks. mm-wave: millimeter-wave.
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utilizes existing illumination systems, which can poten-
tially reduce costs, and supports high-speed transmis-
sion with good coverage due to illumination needs in
daily life. Furthermore, VLC is safe for human eyes. VLC
can also play an important role in outdoor terrestrial ap-
plications; thus, car-to-car communication may become
one of the first implementation paradigms. In addition,
6G will provide superior coverage by integrating space/
air/underwater networks with terrestrial networks [2].
However, the environments of these three networks
are different from terrestrial environments, indicating
that traditional wireless communications are not able
to provide high-speed data rates for them. VLC utiliz-
es ultrahigh bandwidths within the frequency range of
400–800 THz, which is many orders of magnitude greater
than the radio-frequency (RF) bandwidth, and so consti-
tutes a suitable technique for these scenarios in 6G, as
exhibited in Figure 1.
Advances in High-Speed VLC Systems
The greatest advantage of VLC is that it can provide
much higher transmission rates than traditional wireless
communication systems. For this reason, researchers
always focus on high-speed VLC studies. High-speed VLC
systems can be classified as one of two types: offline and
real-time processing. For offline processing, a real-time
oscilloscope is required to record the received signals,
and the signals are then processed by offline programs
on personal terminals. Thus, it is necessary to investi-
gate new techniques with the use of offline processing
mm-Wave VLC
Wi-Fi
Car Networks
Terrestrial Networks
VLC systems in laboratory experiments. In 2000, a
scheme was proposed by Tanaka et al. at Keio University
to use VLC based on white LEDs for indoor applications.
In addition, in 2003, the Visible Light Communication
Consortium, a Japanese organization, was established
with the aims of publicizing and standardizing VLC tech-
nology. In 2011, the first standard (802.15.7-2011 for short-
range VLC) was published by IEEE, and the term light
fidelity (LiFi) was proposed to represent wireless net-
works using VLC. In 2016, a topic interest group was cre-
ated for IEEE 802.11, and, in 2017, the European Union
H2020 Wireless Optical/Radio Terabit Communications
project was approved with the goal of bringing industry
and academia together to develop new techniques for
VLC. Since then, VLC has become increasingly popular
around the world.
Currently, many companies are focusing on bringing
high-speed VLC to commercial markets. PureLiFi devel-
oped an optical front end operating with 802.11 base-
band solutions to achieve LiFi integration into smart
devices. More than 1-Gb/s downlink rates and lower
than 600-Mb/s uplink rates were demonstrated with the
optical front end. The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Insti-
tute created a conference room using VLC-based LiFi
networks on Mainau Island with more than 1-Gb/s data
rates. ByteLight developed an indoor positioning system
based on VLC that used smartphone cameras to control
consumers’ locations. Oledcomm demonstrated LiFi
with top speeds of 100 Mb/s per seat on a commercial
Air France flight and said that 1-Gb/s speeds could be
achieved with next-generation products.
There are two types of commonly used light sources
for VLC systems, i.e., LEDs and laser diodes (LDs). Ap-
plication of LD-based VLC systems can easily achieve
high data rates and long-distance transmissions owing
to the intrinsic large bandwidth of the LDs. However,
these systems require precise alignments between LDs
and the corresponding receivers. LEDs have much wider
divergence than LDs. Therefore, they can be applied in
shorter-distance links for both point-to-point and point-
to-multipoint applications. Furthermore, the price of
LEDs is much lower than that of LDs. Accordingly, LEDs
can be integrated into large-scale arrays to achieve hun-
dreds of watts of illumination power [3]. There are two
basic ways to generate white light illumination based
on LEDs. The first is based on the use of blue emitters
with a phosphor layer, while the second is based on
the use of multicolor chip-integrated emitters, such as
red-green-blue (RGB) and RGB-yellow (RGBY) emitters.
The multicolor chip-integrated method is preferable to
phosphor-based LEDs, owing to the higher bandwidth
and the ability to offer wavelength division multiplexing
(WDM) transmission, and thus can be used to improve
data rates. The bandwidth of phosphorescent white
LEDs is only a few tens of megahertz even with a blue
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Free-space VLC systems BASED ON REAL-TIME
PROCESSING can achieve simultaneous
information transmission, reception, and
processing, and, thus can facilitate real
real-time processing.
filter because of the slow response phosphors. However,
considering their lower cost, lower complexity, and mar-
ket dominance, phosphor-based LEDs are sometimes
more attractive for VLC commercialization. Gallium ni-
tride (GaN) microLEDs (μLEDs) are another type of com-
monly used LEDs that have a photoactive device area at
the micrometer scale; therefore, the plate capacitance is
relieved, and the bandwidth is increased. However, the
reduction of the photoactive area results in a dramatic
reduction of optical power and transmission distance.
The optical power of μLEDs is significantly less than that
of standard phosphor-based LEDs.
The main drawback of LED-based VLC systems is
the limited modulation bandwidth of LEDs. Thus, many
spectrally efficient techniques [such as multilevel car-
rier-less amplitude and phase modulation (CAP); pulse
amplitude modulation (PAM); orthogonal frequency di-
vision multiplexing (OFDM); discrete multitone modu-
lation (DMT); multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO);
and WDM] are used to increase system data rates by
improving bandwidth efficiency. Meanwhile, analog
pre-equalization circuits can also be applied to extend
the modulation bandwidth of VLC systems and enhance
overall transmission data rates. Recent representative
research advances for high-speed VLC systems are
summarized in Figure 2. Note that free-space data rate
results using LEDs are separated into two parts to pro-
vide a clear data rate comparison between the multicol-
or integrated white LED and the phosphorescent LED. In
addition, the high-speed results of UVLC systems using
two kinds of LEDs are combined into a group for a bet-
ter view. It is clear that the supported data rates of VLC
systems have developed rapidly over the years. The
highest data rates for free-space VLC systems based on
multicolor integrated LEDs, phosphor-based LEDs, and
GaN μLEDs are 15.73 Gb/s [4], 3.0 Gb/s [5], and 7.91 Gb/s
[6], respectively.
Free-space VLC systems based on real-time process-
ing can achieve simultaneous information transmission,
reception, and processing, and, thus, can facilitate real-
time processing. It is also crucial to carry out research
studies on real-time VLC high-speed systems because
these are essential for future commercial applications of
VLC. A 1-Gb/s real-time VLC system based on nonreturn
to zero on/off keying (OOK) with a free-space distance
of 1.5 m was presented in 2018, and a 2.5-Gb/s real-time
VLC system with DMT modulation over a free-space
distance of 1.7 m was reported in 2019. Further work
should be carried out to improve the data rates of real-
time VLC systems.
Research Interests in High-Speed VLC Systems
New Materials and Devices
In recent years, many researchers have carried out
investigations on new materials and devices for VLC sys-
tems to achieve breakthrough results. Superluminescent
diodes (SLDs) combine the beam directionality of LDs
with the wide divergence characteristics of LEDs. SLDs
have other advantages, including large bandwidth,
increased brightness, and speckle-free characteristics. A
high-power indium GaN-based SLD emitting blue light
with a bandwidth of ~800 MHz was presented in 2016. As
the manufacturing processes mature further, SLDs are
expected to become promising light-emitting devices for
future VLC systems.
Apart from the μLED mentioned previously, three
other types of LEDs [silicon (Si)-based LEDs (Si-LEDs),
surface plasmon-coupled LEDs (SP-LEDs), and off-the-
shelf LEDs] have gained attention in VLC systems over
the last few years. Si-LEDs have the advantages of strong
antistatic ability, long lifetime, and high production ef-
ficiency. A common-anode, GaN-based, five-primary-
color Si-LED reported in [3] employed 1) a hemispherical
and pyramidal pattern surface-textured GaN to enhance
the light extraction efficiency, 2) a complementary elec-
trode to reduce light absorption, and 3) a silver reflec-
tor to improve single-side luminescence. Moreover, a
15.17-Gb/s bit-loading DMT VLC transmission through
a 1.2-m underwater channel was successfully achieved
based on the use of this LED, where the room tempera-
ture was 20°C [3]. Utilizing SP-LEDs is another effective
way to increase the modulation bandwidth by increas-
ing spontaneous emission rate. SP-LEDs are attractive
solutions for high-speed VLC systems, given that they
afford high-modulation bandwidths and optical powers
without the need of high current densities. Cheap off-
the-shelf LEDs are available for <50 U.S. cents and can
be applied in free-space VLC systems with a record data
rate of 15.73 Gb/s [4].
Among VLC-receiving devices, positive intrinsic neg-
ative (PIN) diodes and avalanche photodiodes (APDs)
are currently the mainstream optical receivers. PIN
diodes have a lower cost than APDs, but APDs have a
higher sensitivity than PIN diodes and need a high volt-
age for the bias circuit. To improve the sensitivity of
PIN diode, a 3 × 3 integrated PIN array was proposed in
2015. Its performance was validated by a 1.2-Gb/s VLC
demonstration and shown to be superior to a single PIN
diode. Focusing optical devices, like lenses, are com-
monly used in VLC systems to match the small active

Free-Space Multicolor Integrated White LED 25 Gb/s

25 G Free-Space Phosphorescent White LED
20.09 Gb/s
Free-Space µ LED
20 G
Underwater LED 15.17 Gb/s
16.6 Gb/s
15 G Underwater LD 10.4 Gb/ 15.73 Gb/s
Real-Time LED RGBs 14.6 Gb/s RGBY
7.91 Gb/s
10 G
8 Gb/s OFDM
7G RGBY
Data Rate (bits/s)

5.6 Gb/s 7.33 Gb/s 3.0 Gb/s

4.8 Gb/s
RGBY DMT
5G 5.5 Gb/s
3 Gb/s 2.7 Gb/s
2.1 Gb/s OFDM 2.32 Gb/s CAP 2.5 Gb/s
3G 1 Gb/s Real-Time
RGB OFDM 3.075 Gb/s
OOK Free Space
2 Gb/s 1.5 Gb/s
1G
OFDM 2.34 Gb/s
513 Mb/s 1.1 Gb/s
803 Mb/ CAP Real-Time
500 M DMT 750 Mb/s
80 Mb/s RGBs Underwater
OOK Real-Time
100 M 231 Mb/s Free Space
DMT 100 Mb/s ent
1M 40 Mb/s Real-Time e l opm
v
OOK Free Space De
F ast
1K 1 Kb/s
OOK

2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020

Figure 2  Recent representative research advances for high-speed VLC systems.

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areas of photodetectors. However, the signal-to-noise
ratio gain comes at the cost of a reduced field of view.
Correspondingly, a novel nonimaging optical concentra-
tor, referred to as a compound parabolic concentrator-
shape luminescent solar concentrator (CPC-shape LSC),
was proposed in 2017 to solve this problem [7]. Based
on these experiments, CPC-shape LSCs doubled the op-
tical gain of their rectangular counterparts. This clearly
shows their potential for high-speed VLC systems with
smart terminals.
To solve the current LED bandwidth limitation, low
sensitivity, and nonlinearity issues associated with the
detectors, future high-speed VLC systems will need new
light sources, detectors, and optoelectronic devices
based on new materials. New VLC light sources should
have wider modulation bandwidths and higher light ef-
ficiencies. Furthermore, new VLC detectors need to
improve the selective absorption of visible light and in-
ternal and external quantum efficiencies. In the future, as
demonstrated in Figure 3, VLC systems will require more
advanced optoelectronic devices, which will include ex-
ternal modulators, amplifiers, multiplexers/demultiplex-
ers (Mux/Demux), optical switches, and transceivers.
Note that this article attempts to provide only a brief
overview of new materials and devices for VLC systems;
State of Art PIN
Array
PIN
LSC
LD
Transmitter
SLD
Si-
LED LED
Off-the-
Shelf
LED
SP-
LED
µLED
Figure 3 The materials and devices for VLC systems.
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thus, some materials and devices displayed in Figure 3,
such as the single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) and
multipixel photon counter (MPPC), are not introduced.
Advanced Modulation
Apart from the materials and devices, advanced modula-
tion is also critical for achieving a high-speed VLC sys-
tem with high spectral efficiency. Four dimensions can
be utilized for modulation in VLC systems, including
amplitude, frequency, phase, and polarization. Further-
more, typical 1D modulations, such as traditional OOK
and frequency shift keying, can be combined with other
dimensions to implement multidimensional modulation
schemes. The application of multilevel modulation is
another way to achieve high spectral efficiency, i.e., the
use of 64 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) or 128
QAM to replace OOK. Detailed information on imple-
menting higher-order QAM in high-speed VLC systems
can be found in [3]. Reduction of the signal bandwidth is
also an important method used to improve spectral effi-
ciency. For a regular WDM system, the channel spacing is
usually larger than the baud rate, but it is equal to or
even less than the baud rate in a Nyquist or super-
Nyquist system. Therefore, more data can be transmitted
in cases where the system bandwidth is limited.
Future Development
MPPC
SPAD
Amplifier
Receiver
APD
Modulator
Materials and
Devices for VLC
Transceiver
Mux/
Demux
Integrated
Transceiver Switch
 In recent years, new technologies, such as probabilis-
tic or geometric shaping and polar codes, have emerged
and been successfully applied to the implementation of
high-speed VLC systems. However, imperfect modula-
tion methods cause the current systems to have capaci-
ties that are far from the Shannon limit. For instance,
commonly used wavelength WDM VLC systems do not
make full use of spectral resources: the latter are wast-
ed owing to the gaps between different channels. Thus,
additional research studies on advanced modulation
should be carried out in the next phase.
UVLC Systems
Underwater communication technologies are important
to achieve 6G network integration. As presented in Fig-
ure 4, the interconnection of ocean observation sensors,
ultrahigh-speed noncontact data communications
among different marine equipment, and functional
implementation, such as wireless fusion networking of
submarine optical cable networks and underwater wire-
less optical communications, all require support from
underwater communication technologies.
Compared with underwater wired communication,
underwater wireless communication technology is
preferable because it does not require the transmis-
sion media and is currently mainly implemented by
acoustic waves and RF. Acoustic waves can be used
to implement low-rate and long-distance underwa-
ter transmissions owing to their small attenuation in
seawater. However, they are associated with several
VLC Links
Underwater
Vehicle
Underwater
Human Activities
Sensor
ONU
Nodes
Underwater
Sensor Network
Figure 4  A schematic of future UVLC networks.
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disadvantages, i.e., narrow bandwidth, low carrier
frequency, large propagation delay, and poor security.
RF transmission is suitable for underwater short-dis-
tance and high-rate communications. However, this
method also has drawbacks, such as the skin effect in
seawater, limited penetration depth, and high trans-
mission power requirements. Therefore, the develop-
ment of new underwater communication technologies
has become an urgent need. In 1963, it was found that
the attenuation of blue-green light in the range of
450–550 nm was much smaller than that in other light
bands. The discovery of this physical phenomenon
has laid a theoretical foundation for the development
of UVLC. Compared with underwater acoustic and
RF communications, UVLC has the advantages of low
cost, high transmission rates, strong anti-interference
ability, and high security and, thus, has become the
focus of international competition.
At present, UVLC is mostly achieved with LDs and
LEDs. Recent research results of high-speed UVLC sys-
tems are presented in Figure 2. Longer UVLC transmis-
sion distances and higher data rates can be achieved
with LDs than with LEDs. Since the first experimental
demonstration of a high-speed LD-based UVLC system
(on the order of gigabits per second) in 2008, many re-
search works have concentrated on exploring higher
data rates and longer transmission ranges for UVLC sys-
tems with LDs. A UVLC transmission of 14.8 Gb/s over
1.7 m with OFDM and a 3.7-GHz modulation bandwidth
was reported in 2018. Fei et al. [8] presented a UVLC
Smart City
Optical Base
Transceiver Station
Base
Station
ONU
Optical Fiber
Network
system with transmission rates of 16.6 Gb/s over a 5-m,
13.2 Gb/s over a 35-m, and 6.6Gb/s over a 55-m water
channel with adaptive bit-power-loading DMT modula-
tion and a Volterra series-based nonlinear equalizer. In
addition, a 25-Gb/s turbid water transmission with a two-
stage injection-locked, vertical-cavity-surface-emitting
laser with three LDs was realized by Li et al. [9]. At
the same time, LED-based UVLC systems with higher
data rates have also been successfully implemented.
A 20.09-Gb/s WDM transmission was reported in [10]
and constitutes the highest data rate for UVLC systems
based on LEDs reported to this day. Moreover, a 2.34-Gb/s
real-time transmission in a UVLC system was reported
in [11] and represents the highest data rate for real-time
UVLC applications ever reported.
Based on ongoing researcher efforts, UVLC has
achieved higher transmission rates over larger transmis-
sion distances. However, the adverse conditions of the
underwater environment, such as attenuation and the
scattering of visible light, water temperature changes,
underwater bubbles, and turbulence, can interfere in a
profound way with the state of the UVLC channel and
cause performance uncertainties. Therefore, modeling
UVLC channels is critical. The spatial effects of multiple
scattering on an underwater laser beam with experi-
mental validations were investigated in 2018. A closed-
form expression of the double-gamma-function model
was presented in 2014 to model the impulse response
of UVLC channels. Zedini et al. [12] reported a unified
statistical model in 2019 to characterize the fading char-
acteristics of underwater optical channels in the pres-
ence of bubbles, turbulence, and temperature gradients
in fresh and salty water. This is the first channel model
capable of solving underwater beam irradiance fluc-
tuations caused by bubbles and temperature gradients.
However, additional studies on the complete modeling of
UVLC channels need to be conducted, and further devel-
opment is also required.
Machine Learning for VLC
Modulation
Nonlinearity
Format
Mitigation
Identification
 Neural Network  Clustering
 MLP/FLANN/RBF  K-Means/CAPD
 DNN/GKDNN/LSTM  DBSCAN
 Clustering  2D DBSCAN
 K-Means/CAPD  3D DBSCAN
Figure 5  Machine learning applications in VLC. KNN: k-nearest neighbors.
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Machine Learning-Based Signal Processing
In recent years, machine learning has been widely
applied in VLC systems. As seen in Figure 5, machine
learning can be used for tasks such as system nonlineari-
ty mitigation, modulation format identification, indoor
positioning, channel estimation, phase estimation, and
MIMO. At present, machine learning algorithms are used
mainly as effective research tools to provide new ideas
and pursue the optimum system performance in VLC
systems. However, with the rapid development of GPUs,
they may play an active role in future commercialization
of VLC.
Nonlinearity in high-speed VLC systems can be miti-
gated by employing neural network (NN) and cluster-
ing schemes. Artificial NN (ANN)-based equalizers are
becoming increasingly popular because of advances in
digital signal processing technologies. Several types of
ANNs can be applied as equalizers, including multilay-
er perceptron (MLP), radial basis function (RBF), and
functional link ANN (FLANN) [13]. MLP is an ANN with
minimum complexity. MLP and FLANN equalizer ap-
plications in VLC systems were presented in 2015 and
2019, respectively. Nowadays, deep NNs (DNNs) are also
considered an effective way to achieve equalization for
VLC systems and mitigate nonlinearity, but real-time ap-
plications of these types of equalizers are restricted by
the required training. A DNN based on a Gaussian ker-
nel (GKDNN) was proposed in [14] for postequalization
in UVLC. The addition of the Gaussian kernel increased
the network convergence speed and reduced the num-
ber of training times by 47.06%. The first application of
long short-term memory (LSTM) in VLC systems was
reported in 2019. Application of the LSTM-based equal-
izer improved the system’s quality (Q) factor by 1.2 dB
and extended the transmission distance, while reduc-
ing system complexity. Some clustering-based machine
learning techniques have also been applied to mitigate
nonlinearity in VLC systems, i.e., K-means and clustering
Indoor Other
Positioning Applications
 Single Classifier  Channel Estimation
 KNN/ANN  PBL/TTHnet
 K-Means/DBSCAN  Phase Estimation
 Fusion of Multiple  SVM/K-Means
Classifiers  MIMO Arrow Symbol
ICA

Machine learning is a powerful tool in
indoor VLC positioning systems, and both
single classifiers and multiple classifiers
can be used to achieve positioning.
algorithm perception decision (CAPD). In 2017, CAPD was
applied in a multiband CAP VLC system with a Q-factor
improvement of 1.6–2.5 dB. A K-means-based predistort-
er was proposed in 2018, and at least 50% performance
improvement was achieved using this scheme.
K-means and CAPD are also suitable for modulation
format identification in VLC systems. Apart from these,
density-based spatial clustering of applications with
noise (DBSCAN), 2D DBSCAN, and 3D DBSCAN can also
be applied to carry out identification. In 2018, a DBSCAN-
based method was proposed to distinguish different
signal levels in a PAM VLC system. This method was fur-
ther extended into in-phase/quadrature 2D space and
in-phase/quadrature/time 3D space in 2019; these were
referred to as 2D DBSCAN and 3D DBSCAN, respective-
ly. Machine learning techniques can be used for other
applications in VLC systems as well. Probabilistic Ba­­
yesian learning (PBL) and two tributary heterogeneous
neural networks (TTHnets) have been proposed
and utilized for channel estimation. The PBL tech-
nique used as a VLC channel estimator in 2017, reduced
the required training overhead significantly. In 2019, the
TTHnet-based channel estimator was proposed for
both single-carrier and multicarrier UVLC systems. Sup-
port vector machines (SVMs) and K-means were verified
as phase estimators. In 2018, an SVM-based method was
applied in a two-band CAP VLC system to achieve phase
estimation with an aggregated data rate of 400 Mb/s.
K-means clustering was used to correct the phase of
special-shaped 8-QAM signals in 2019. Independent
Underwater Software Pre-Equalizer PIN Array
MIMO Hardware Pre-Equalizer Si-Based LED
Off-the-Shelf
Blue Filter WDM µLED SLD SP-LED LED
Bit and Power Loading PS GS ANN DNN CNN LSTM
OFDM DMT CAP LMS + Volterra CAPD DBSCAN
OOK PAM PPM Volterra RLS + Volterra SVM K-Means
2000 2010 2015
Figure 6 The enabling techniques in VLC. GS: geometric shaping; PS: probabilistic shaping;
CNN: convolutional neural network; LMS: least mean-square; RLS: recursive least square;
PPM: pulse position modulation.
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component analysis (ICA) was proposed as a MIMO
demultiplexer in 2020, and Q -factor improvements
of 2.5 dB and 4.9 dB are achieved with data rates of
750 Mb/s and 900 Mb/s, respectively. It is also impor-
tant to note that machine learning is a powerful tool
in indoor VLC positioning systems, and both single
classifiers and multiple classifiers can be used to
achieve positioning [15].
Challenges and Prospects of VLC in 6G
During the last 20 years, VLC has experienced rapid
development with the enabling techniques summarized
in Figure 6. As a new type of communication technology,
it has attracted the interest of many researchers around
the world, which has led to gratifying progress. At pres-
ent, effective analysis of user application needs can pro-
mote a country’s long-term economic growth and
optimize the industrial layout. VLC can be combined
with user needs in indoor positioning, heterogeneous
networking, high-definition video transmission, and the
integration of visible light and Wi-Fi. Figure 7 shows the
demand distributions of VLC transmission distance and
data transmission rates in different application fields.
VLC is an important component in the future 6G blue-
print. Thus, research on VLC still should be carried out
to further broaden its application scenarios and improve
its communication performance. Future development of
VLC requires more research on the evolution of its fun-
damental transmission devices, as summarized in Fig-
ure  8. High-speed VLC systems are mainly restricted by
the limited bandwidths of the light sources. Accordingly,
this indicates that super-high-bandwidth light sources
with new materials and mechanisms should be investi-
gated. The commonly applied Si-based detectors for VLC
systems are mainly sensitive to infrared waves and result in
low sensitivities to visible light. Thus, the use of detectors
based on aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) and single-
photon detectors with high respon-
sivity would be a solution. Another
problem is the lack of application-
specific integrated circuits (ASICs)
LSC
for VLC baseband processing. There-
LED Array fore, analog front-end circuitry, such
as drivers, transimpedance amplifi-
ers, and digital chips, are necessary
for baseband processing. Currently,
field programmable gate arrays with
power consumption greater than
10 W are widely applied to imple-
ment signal processing for real-time
VLC systems due to the lack of ASICs.
2020
In the future, power consumption
can be reduced using ASICs with
smaller size and lower power require-
ments. Nowadays, VLC systems are
 10 G
Ultrahigh-Speed Short Distance

Indoor High-Speed Access

1G
Data Rate (bit/s)

High-Speed Short Distance High-Speed Long Distance

Medical Communication Private Network Space Network

Security Communication

1M
Low-Speed Short Distance Low-Speed Long Distance

Mobile Communication Underwater Network

Positioning/Navigation V2X

1 10 100 1,000
Distance (m)

Figure 7 The distribution demands of VLC transmission distances and data transmission rates in different application fields. V2X: vehicle
to everything.

extensively applied based on point-

to-point communication using single
Challenges and Problems Possible Solutions
transmitters and detectors, while
MIMO communications based on Super-High-Bandwidth Light Sources
Bandwidth Limitation of
transmitter and detector arrays With New Materials and
Light Sources
constitute the future trend. Current New Mechanisms
transmission and reception antennas
Si-Based Detectors Are Mainly High-Responsivity Detectors Based
for VLC systems require a large lens Sensitive to Infrared Waves on AlGaAs/Single-Photon Detectors
group, which presents difficulties for
future integration. This problem can Lack of ASICs for VLC AFE Including Driver Chips/TIA Chips
be solved based on the use of Fres- Baseband Processing Digital Chips for Baseband Processing
nel lenses using beamforming and
steering based on nano-optical an- Point-to-Point Communication Based MIMO Communications Based on
tennas. Additionally, the modeling of on a Single Transmitter and Detector Transmission and Detection Arrays
VLC systems requires further inves-
Fresnel Lens, Beamforming, and
tigation. Current VLC channel mod- Transmission and Reception
Steering Based on Nano-Optical
eling is based on only the light-field Antennas Require Large Lens Groups
Antennas
distribution and spatial characteris-
tics of LED or LD devices. However,
the actual VLC system channels also Figure 8 The contemporary challenges and problems of VLC devices and their prospective
include receiver frequency response solutions.
characteristics, optical antennas, spa-
tial light-field distribution, atmospheric turbulence, back- from multiple terminals simultaneously with a switching
ground light noise, scattering, diffraction, and reflection. time of more than 10 ms, an uplink rate of more than 10 Gb/s,
VLC channel modeling considering these factors will pro- and a single point-to-point link transmission rate of at
vide theoretical guidance for future high-speed space and least 100–200 Gb/s. To adapt to the complex data process-
UVLC systems. ing needs of future systems, intelligent machine learning
VLC is a reliable communication method in 6G and will should become the focus of the next phase of research
be adopted to generate a novel heterogeneous network and should be used to implement advanced signal-pro-
with other communication techniques to provide high- cessing algorithms in VLC systems. It is undeniable that 1)
capacity, high-rate, stable, and reliable transmissions. In VLC has very important theoretical and practical signifi-
this network, a single access point can support access cance and 2) the application prospects for high-speed VLC

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Authorized licensed use limited to: Universita degli Studi di Parma. Downloaded on February 26,2022 at 00:29:03 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
technology in 6G are very broad. As long as a reasonable
and stable development plan is formulated, VLC technol-
ogy will surely be of great use in the future.
Conclusions
In this study, the prospects of VLC in 6G were introduced
in conjunction with the latest high-speed VLC research
advances. The development of new materials and devic-
es, advanced modulation, UVLC, and machine learning-
based signal processing were also summarized.
Utilization of VLC has achieved a series of remarkable
results based on the efforts of researchers worldwide.
However, significant challenges still exist in various
aspects. For example, existing optical devices still limit
the performance of VLC systems. In the future, new devic-
es should be investigated to break the performance bot-
tlenecks. Current VLC channel models for both free-space
and underwater transmission do not cover all of the influ-
ential factors in actual channels, and a comprehensive
VLC theoretical channel model will need to be studied
further. A heterogeneous network architecture based on
VLC should also be proposed. The applications of
machine learning in VLC are still not sufficient, i.e., net-
work monitoring has not been fully studied until now.
More research on new machine learning algorithms is
required to realize the intelligence of VLC systems. Given
these research directions, it is anticipated that more
rapid development will be achieved for VLC in 6G.
Acknowledgments
This work was partially supported by the National Key
Research and Development Program of China grant
2017YFB0403603 and National Natural Science Founda-
tion of China project 61925104.
Author Information
Nan Chi (nanchi@fudan.edu.cn) is a profes-
sor in the School of Information Science and
Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai,
China. She is also with the Shanghai Insti-
tute for Advanced Communication and Data
Science, Key Laboratory for Information Sci-
ence of Electromagnetic Waves, and the Academy for Engi-
neering and Technology. Her current research interests
include advanced modulation formats, optical packet/
label switching, optical fiber communication, and visible
light communication. She is a fellow of the Optical Society
of America.
    Yingjun Zhou (15110720015@fudan
.edu.cn) received her B.S. degree in 2015
and is now working toward her Ph.D.
degree at Fudan University, Shanghai,
China. Her current research interests
include high-speed visible light systems
and advanced digital signal processing.
102 ||| IEEE VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2020
Authorized licensed use limited to: Universita degli Studi di Parma. Downloaded on February 26,2022 at 00:29:03 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
    Yiran Wei (18110720055@fudan.edu
.cn) received his M.E. degree in 2018
and is now working toward his Ph.D.
degree at Fudan University, Shanghai,
China. His research interests include
optical fiber and free-space optical
communication.
    Fangchen Hu (18110720018@fudan
.edu.cn) received his B.S. degree in 2018
and is now working toward his Ph.D.
degree at Fudan University, Shanghai,
China. His research interests include
visible light communication and nonlin-
ear effects.
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