Smart Phones:an example application for fluorescent concentrators

A key component of visible light communications systems are the receivers, which should be designed to maximize the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the received signal. The most direct approach to increasing the SNR of a receiver is to increase the active area of its photodiode. However, larger photodiodes have a larger capacitance and this can restrict the bandwidth of the receiver. An alternative approach to increasing the SNR of a receiver is to use an optical concentrator. In this paper, the potential use of fluorescent concentrators in smart phones is discussed. In particular, limitations on the receiver design imposed by thin smart phones are considered. The results that are presented highlight the benefits of both the versatile shape of fluorescent concentrators and relatively modest optical gains.