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Krishnamoorthy, Aravindh; Safi, Hossein; Younus, Othman; Kazemi, Hossein; Osahon, Isaac N. O.; Liu, Mingqing; Liu, Yi; Babadi, Sina; Ahmad, Rizwana; Ihsan, Asim; Majlesein, Behnaz; Huang, Yifan; Herrnsdorf, Johannes; Rajbhandari, Sujan; McKendry, Jonathan J. D.; Tavakkolnia, Iman; Caglayan, Humeyra; Helmers, Henning; Turnbull, Graham; Samuel, Ifor D. W.; Dawson, Martin D.; Schober, Robert; Haas, Harald
Optical Wireless Communications: Enabling the Next-Generation Network of Networks Journal Article
In: IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 20–39, 2025, ISSN: 1556-6080.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Bandwidth, Fiber optics, Laser beams, Optical fiber communication, Optical fibers, Optical transmitters, Terahertz communications, Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, Wireless communication, Wireless networks
@article{krishnamoorthy_optical_2025,
title = {Optical Wireless Communications: Enabling the Next-Generation Network of Networks},
author = {Aravindh Krishnamoorthy and Hossein Safi and Othman Younus and Hossein Kazemi and Isaac N. O. Osahon and Mingqing Liu and Yi Liu and Sina Babadi and Rizwana Ahmad and Asim Ihsan and Behnaz Majlesein and Yifan Huang and Johannes Herrnsdorf and Sujan Rajbhandari and Jonathan J. D. McKendry and Iman Tavakkolnia and Humeyra Caglayan and Henning Helmers and Graham Turnbull and Ifor D. W. Samuel and Martin D. Dawson and Robert Schober and Harald Haas},
url = {https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10974735},
doi = {10.1109/MVT.2025.3555366},
issn = {1556-6080},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-06-01},
urldate = {2025-10-08},
journal = {IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine},
volume = {20},
number = {2},
pages = {20–39},
abstract = {Optical wireless communication (OWC) is a promising technology anticipated to play a key role in the next-generation network of networks (NoNs), especially as a complementary technology to traditional radio-frequency (RF) communications, for enhancing networking capabilities beyond conventional terrestrial networks. OWC is already a mature technology with diverse usage scenarios and can enable integrated applications via wireless access and backhaul networks, dynamic drone and satellite networks, underwater networks, inter- and intrasystem interconnecting networks, and vehicular communication networks. Furthermore, novel and emerging technological opportunities such as photovoltaic cells, orbital angular momentum-based modulation, optical reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, organic light-emitting and photo diodes, and recent advances in ultraviolet communications can help to enhance future OWC capabilities even further. Moreover, OWC networks can also support value-added services such as enhanced positioning and gesture recognition. Hence, OWC provides unique functionalities that can play a crucial role in building convergent and resilient future NoNs alongside RF and optical fiber technologies.},
keywords = {Bandwidth, Fiber optics, Laser beams, Optical fiber communication, Optical fibers, Optical transmitters, Terahertz communications, Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, Wireless communication, Wireless networks},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Optical wireless communication (OWC) is a promising technology anticipated to play a key role in the next-generation network of networks (NoNs), especially as a complementary technology to traditional radio-frequency (RF) communications, for enhancing networking capabilities beyond conventional terrestrial networks. OWC is already a mature technology with diverse usage scenarios and can enable integrated applications via wireless access and backhaul networks, dynamic drone and satellite networks, underwater networks, inter- and intrasystem interconnecting networks, and vehicular communication networks. Furthermore, novel and emerging technological opportunities such as photovoltaic cells, orbital angular momentum-based modulation, optical reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, organic light-emitting and photo diodes, and recent advances in ultraviolet communications can help to enhance future OWC capabilities even further. Moreover, OWC networks can also support value-added services such as enhanced positioning and gesture recognition. Hence, OWC provides unique functionalities that can play a crucial role in building convergent and resilient future NoNs alongside RF and optical fiber technologies.