OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS TESTBED FOR THE EXPLOITATION OF LUMINESCENCE EMISSIONS OF SOLAR CELLS FOR OPTICAL FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (OFID)

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the possibility of Optical Frequency Identification (OFID) technology being used as a communication pathway for devices in LiFi systems that serve to open alternative transmission paths for Internet-of-Things infrastructure. LiFi or light-fidelity, plays off the concept of wireless-fidelity, commonly known as WiFi, and follows the trend of moving to higher frequencies within the electromagnetic spectrum. LiFi lies within the visual light and infrared wavelength range, which can be referred to as the nanometer wave range. The developed optical communication testbed is a proof of concept showing that OFID technology, enabled by Gallium Arsenide solar cell emission, can communicate with Visual Light Communication (VLC) systems. The scope of the work entails the development of a testbed for a custom optical communications testbed for OFID linked to VLC communication by sending transmissions via powerline modulation. An optical receiver circuit was developed and tested, and integration and testing for powerline communication and LED luminaire were successful. Manchester encoded data was sent at 4800 bit rate optically from an infrared light source, received by the developed receivers and was decoded. Information was successfully transmitted over powerline from computer terminal to LED luminaire output at 2400, 3600, 4800, 7200, and 9600 bit rate. Integration of these communication links did not occur due to Purdue University closure of campus related activities from COVID-19.