All-Optical Distributed MIMO for LiFi: Spatial Diversity Versus Spatial Multiplexing

LiFi or networked optical wireless communication is likely to play an important role in offloading mobile data traffic from radio into the optical spectrum. As the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is growing, the RF spectrum becomes a rare resource. Imaging IoT sensors like cameras, ultrasonic devices, and Lidars have real-time requirements, need a high-capacity uplink, and operate in environments that cause or are sensitive against electromagnetic interference. In this paper, for the first time, we present realtime communication over an all-optical fixed-wireless LiFi link based on the distributed multiple-input multiple-output concept. For distributing the wireless signals, plastic optical fibers are used as an analog front-haul. We study the operation of the distributed multiple-input multiple-output link in two modes, i.e., spatial diversity and spatial multiplexing. For the diversity mode, a new combiner is presented, which can support equal gain as well as selection combining. We demonstrate that selection combining is highly effective and enables a similar LiFi performance in up- and downlink, as it is desirable for industrial applications. For the spatial multiplexing mode, we observe that the channel rank and the achievable throughput depend strongly on the user location. As effective solutions, we study the benefits of angular diversity and multiple-input multiple-output mode switching together with multi-user multiplexing and conclude that a dynamic switching between spatial diversity and spatial multiplexing is a practical approach.