TY - JOUR
T1 - Visible-light communications using a CMOS-controlled micro-light-emitting-diode array
AU - Mckendry, Jonathan
AU - Massoubre, David
AU - Zhang, Shuailong
AU - Rae, B.R.
AU - Green, R.P.
AU - Gu, Erdan
AU - Henderson, R.K.
AU - Kelly, A.E.
AU - Dawson, Martin
PY - 2012/1/13
Y1 - 2012/1/13
N2 - We report the high-frequency modulation of individual pixels in 88 arrays of III-nitride-based micro-pixellated light-emitting diodes, where the pixels within the array range from 14 to 84 m in diameter. The peak emission wavelengths of the devices are 370, 405, 450 and 520 nm, respectively. Smaller area micro-LED pixels generally exhibit higher modulation bandwidths than their larger area counterparts, which is attributed to their ability to be driven at higher current densities. The highest optical -3 dB modulation bandwidths from these devices are shown to be in excess of 400 MHz, which, to our knowledge, are the highest bandwidths yet reported for GaN LEDs. These devices are also integrated with a complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) driver array chip, allowing for simple computer control of individual micro-LED pixels. The bandwidth of the integrated micro-LED/CMOS pixels is shown to be up to 185 MHz; data transmission at bit rates up to 512 Mbit/s is demonstrated using on-off keying non return-to-zero modulation with a bit-error ratio of less than 110..10, using a 450 nmemitting 24 m diameter CMOS-controlled micro-LED. As the CMOS chip allows for up to 16 independent data inputs, this device demonstrates the potential for multi-Gigabit/s parallel data transmission using CMOS-controlled micro-LEDs.
AB - We report the high-frequency modulation of individual pixels in 88 arrays of III-nitride-based micro-pixellated light-emitting diodes, where the pixels within the array range from 14 to 84 m in diameter. The peak emission wavelengths of the devices are 370, 405, 450 and 520 nm, respectively. Smaller area micro-LED pixels generally exhibit higher modulation bandwidths than their larger area counterparts, which is attributed to their ability to be driven at higher current densities. The highest optical -3 dB modulation bandwidths from these devices are shown to be in excess of 400 MHz, which, to our knowledge, are the highest bandwidths yet reported for GaN LEDs. These devices are also integrated with a complementary metal-oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) driver array chip, allowing for simple computer control of individual micro-LED pixels. The bandwidth of the integrated micro-LED/CMOS pixels is shown to be up to 185 MHz; data transmission at bit rates up to 512 Mbit/s is demonstrated using on-off keying non return-to-zero modulation with a bit-error ratio of less than 110..10, using a 450 nmemitting 24 m diameter CMOS-controlled micro-LED. As the CMOS chip allows for up to 16 independent data inputs, this device demonstrates the potential for multi-Gigabit/s parallel data transmission using CMOS-controlled micro-LEDs.
KW - photonics
KW - micro-light-emitting-diode array
KW - lightwave technology
KW - micro LEDs
KW - modulation
KW - optical transmitters
KW - bandwith
KW - arrays
KW - CMOS integrated circuits
U2 - 10.1109/JLT.2011.2175090
DO - 10.1109/JLT.2011.2175090
M3 - Article
VL - 30
SP - 61
EP - 67
JO - Journal of Lightwave Technology
JF - Journal of Lightwave Technology
SN - 0733-8724
IS - 1
ER -