Performance of eU-OFDM based relay-assisted visible light communications

In this paper, we consider relay-assisted visible light communication (VLC) system where intermediate light source cooperates with main light source. Following IEEE 802.15.7r VLC reference channel model, we assume presence of two difference light sources in office space. First one is information source employed on ceiling and second one is desk lamp. Our system builds upon enhanced unipolar optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (eU-OFDM) where task light performs amplify-and-forward relaying to assist the communication and operates in half-duplex mode. We investigate bit error rate performance of relay-assisted VLC system and demonstrate that cooperation brings significant performance gains over direct transmission.