OFDM-PWM scheme for visible light communications

In this paper, we propose an improved hybrid optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (O-OFDM) and pulse-width modulation (PWM) scheme for visible light communications. In this scheme, a bipolar O-OFDM signal is converted into a PWM format where the leading and trailing edges convey the frame synchronization and modulated information, respectively. The proposed scheme is insensitive to the non-linearity of the light emitting diode (LED) as LEDs are switched 'on' and 'off' between two points. Therefore, the tight requirement on the high peak-to-average-power-ratio (PAPR) in O-OFDM is no longer a major issue. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme offers an improved bit error rate performance compared to the traditional asymmetrically clipped O-OFDM (ACO-OFDM).