Technical Details
An international team of researchers led by Professor Zhihao Xia from the South China University of Technology (Guangzhou, China) has developed and tested a new type of photonic device for wireless communication - a 'photonic laser engine' capable of transmitting large amounts of data using white light over a record distance of over 1.2 kilometers.
Context and Background
Visible light communication (VLC) systems today have a significant limitation: ordinary LEDs can only transmit data over distances of a few meters. The new development offers an alternative - the use of a focused laser beam, which has significantly more power and can provide communication over kilometer distances.
Industry Impact
In the future, the technology is seen as one of the key elements of future 6G networks. Such systems will be able to combine ground stations, satellites, and air platforms, provide communication in hard-to-reach regions - including oceans, deserts, and mountainous areas - as well as support real-time data transmission for distributed artificial intelligence systems.
Limitations and Prospects
The technology is still in the development stage. Among the limitations are the shift of the light spectrum to the yellow region, which reduces the color rendering quality, insufficient speed of data transmission compared to fiber optic, and sensitivity to weather conditions. In the future, researchers plan to improve materials to accelerate signal modulation, combine laser communication channels with radio networks, and implement artificial intelligence systems that can automatically adapt the power and stability of the signal depending on environmental conditions.