Existing radio-frequency (RF) wireless technology for wireless communication and navigation has encountered technical challenges, e.g., unsuitable for big data streaming due to limited frequency bandwidth and limitation on indoor positioning. Visible light emitted by light-emitting diodes (LED) may be modulated to realize wireless visible light communication (VLC) and positioning (VLP). Building on energy-efficiency LED lighting bulbs, VLC/VLP technology may potentially be a revolutionary alternative to existing RF wireless and navigation. Dr. Albert Wang of University of California-Riverside will bring 15 American undergraduate students to conduct LED VLC/VLP research in China during 2016 to 2018. The American students will spend two summer months in China, first in Beijing, at the Institute of Microelectronics of Tsinghua University (TU), one of the best university-based facilities for advance semiconductor fabrication, then in Wuhan, China's optical valley, at the School of Optics and Electronics Information of Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) to perform VLC/VLP research in pair with local Chinese students. TU and HUST offer world-class and complementary research strengths and facilities for nano device fabrication and opto-electronic integration, respectively. The two Chinese co-investigators Prof. Tianling Ren at TU and Prof. Xuecheng Zou at HUST are well known scholars in the field who have been collaborating with Dr. Wang for years, including hosting American REU students before. This US-China IRES program will expose the American students to the global frontiers of opto-electronic wireless communications and ranging research. At least 50% of participants will be expected from the underrepresented minority groups.
This three-year US-China IRES program will involve American undergraduate students in developing novel LED-based wireless visible light communication (VLC) and positioning (VLP) systems. Building upon the on-going research at the University of California Center for Ubiquitous Communications by Light (UC-Light), the IRES students will be directed to conduct the following research tasks in team with their Chinese counterparts: (1) develop an LED-based VLC testbed systems, (2) design integrated circuit (ICs) for VLC/VLP systems, (3) develop LED-based real-time tracking systems, (4) investigate broadband graphene-based optical modulators for VLC systems, and (5) design electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection for high-reliable LED VLC/VLP systems. The LED VLC/VLP technologies developed is potentially a revolutionary alternative to existing RF-based wireless communication and navigation technologies, addressing its technical limitations. The participating American students will be trained to be technically competitive and globally enabled for their future careers.
