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Optical Wireless Communication for 6G Communication Networks

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Optics and Lasers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 46

Special Issue Editors

School of Information Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Interests: wireless communication; AI; Internet of Things
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Institut Supérieur d’Électronique de Paris, LISIT-ECoS, 75020 Paris, France
Interests: cloud computing; parallel and distributed computing; computer networking; digital signal processing; information and communication technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Information Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Interests: visible light communication and positioning; non-orthogonal multiple access; channel measurement and modeling; physical layer security and resource allocation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-type communication networks has imposed further requirements for higher wireless network capacity. These challenges are critical drivers pushing fifth-generation (5G) and even sixth generation (6G) wireless communication networks. Thus, optical wireless communication (OWC) is considered to be a promising technology for improving data rate and system capacity in 5G/6G networks. The VLC spectrum ranges from 430 THz to 790 THz, which provides a rich yet unused spectrum bandwidth. Meanwhile, visible light can hardly penetrate through walls and other obstacles. Thus, interference among light-emitting diode (LED) communication cells can be greatly reduced while enhancing the degree of spatial reuse and the security of sensitive data. Benefiting from these advantages, OWC systems can find a wide range of applications in homes and offices. Furthermore, LEDs have longer life expectancies and lower power consumption levels compared with traditional incandescent or fluorescent lights. Due to the great progress in solid-state technologies, highly energy-efficient LEDs can be used for illumination, mobile communication, localization, etc.

This Special Issue will bring together researchers from academia and industry to explore studies on the development, implementation, and application of optical wireless communication systems in 5G/6G networks. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Channel simulation, measurement, and modeling in optical bands;
  • LED-IoT communications in OWC networks;
  • Higher-data-rate OWC for 5G/6G networks;
  • New hardware and software implementation for visible light communication (VLC) (e.g., LED chips design);
  • Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)/reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-aided OWC;
  • Statistical modeling and channel estimation for OWC systems;
  • Machine learning and neural networks for OWC systems;
  • New multiple access technologies in OWC networks (e.g., non-orthogonal multiple access);
  • New models, concepts, and architectures supporting OWC networks;
  • Software-defined networking and network function virtualization (SDN/NFV) in OWC networks;
  • VLC for indoor localization/positioning and sensing in 5G/6G networks;
  • Scalable distributed learning for VLC systems (e.g., federated learning);
  • Multiuser VLC networking, advance modulation techniques ;
  • Security and privacy issues in VLC;
  • Underwater VLC;
  • VLC for internet of vehicles (e.g., unmanned aerial vehicle, car);
  • AI-based blockchain for VLC;
  • AI-based digital twins for VLC;
  • OWC assisted or related advanced technology or system/networks design;
  • Joint evaluation index for lighting and communication of optical devices.

Dr. Lisu Yu
Prof. Dr. Xun Zhang
Dr. Xiaodong Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • optical wireless communication (OWC)
  • sixth-generation (6G) communication networks
  • high energy efficiency
  • high date rate
  • high security
  • reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)
  • multiple access

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