Li–Fi Technology 2023-24

CHAPTER -01

INTRODUCTION
1.1 General Introduction

In the era of overcrowded (data communication) world, Li-Fi is a new way of wireless
communication that uses LED lights transmit data wirelessly. Transmission of data is one of
the most important day to day activities in the fast growing world. The current wireless
networks that connect us to the Internet are very slow when multiple devices are connected.
Also with the increase in the number of devices which access the Internet, the availability of
fixed bandwidth makes it much more difficult to enjoy high data transfer rates and to connect
a secure network. Radio waves are just a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum available
for data transfer.
Li-Fi has got a much broader spectrum for transmission compared to
conventionalmethodsofwirelesscommunicationsthatrelyonradiowaves.Thebasicideology
behind this technology is that the data can be transferred through LED light by varying light
intensities faster than the human eyes can perceive. This technology uses a part of the
electromagnetic spectrum that is still not greatly utilized- The Visible Spectrum, instead of
Gigahertz radio waves for data transfer.
The idea of Li-Fi was introduced for the first time by a German physicist Harald Hass in
the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Global talkon Visible Light Communication
(VLC) in July 2011, by referring to it as “data through illumination”. He used a table lamp
with an LED bulb to transmit a video of a blooming flower that was then projected onto a
screen. In simple terms, Li-Fi can be thought of as a light-based Wi-Fi i.e. instead of radio
waves it uses light to transmit data. In place of Wi-Fi modems, Li-Fi would use transceivers
fitted with LED lamps that could light a room as well as transmit and receive information.
By adding new and unutilized bandwidth of visible light to the currently available radio
waves for data transfer, Li-Fi can play a major role in relieving the heavy loads which the
current wireless system is facing. Thus it may offer additional frequency band of the order of
400THz compared to that available in RF communication which is about 300GHz. Also, as
the Li-Fi uses the visible spectrum, it will help alleviate concerns that the electromagnetic
waves coming with Wi-Fi could adversely affect our health.

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By Communication through visible light, Li-Fi technology has the possibility to

change how we access the Internet, stream videos, receive email sand much more. Security
would not been issue as data can’t be access either absence of light. As a result, it can be used
in high security military areas where RF communication is prone to eaves dropping.

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CHAPTER – 02

METHADOLOGY

2.1 Architecture of Li-Fi system

Li-Fi which can be the future of data communication appears to be a fast and cheap
optical version of Wi-Fi. Being a Visible Light Communication (VLC), Li-Fi uses visible
light of electromagnetic spectrum between 400 THz and 800 THz as optical carrier for
data transmission and illumination. It uses fast pulses of light to transmit information in
wireless medium. The main components of a basic Li-Fi system may contain the
following:

 A high brightness white LED which acts as transmission source.

 A silicon photodiode with good response to visible light as the receiving element.

Switching the LEDs on and off can make them generate digital strings with different
combination of 1s and 0s. To generate a new data stream, data can be encoded in the light
by varying the flickering rate of the LED. In this way, the LEDs work as a sender by
modulating the light with the data signal. The LED output appears constant to the human
because they are made to flicker at a phenomenal speed (millions of times per second) and
it’s impossible for human eye to detect this frequency. Communication rate more
than100Mbps can be achieved by using high speed LED switch the help of various
multiplexing techniques. And this VLC data rate can be further increased to as high
as10Gbps via parallel data transmission using an array of LED lights with each LED
transmitting a different data stream.

The Li-Fi transmitter system comprises off our primary sub assemblies:
 Bulb
 RF Power Amplifier Circuit(PA)
 Printed Circuit Board(PCB)
 Enclosure

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Fig2.1.1: Block Diagram of Li-Fi sub-assemblies.

The Printed circuit board (PCB) controls the electrical input sand outputs of the lamp and
houses the microcontroller used to manage different lamp functions. A Radio Frequency(RF)
signal is generated by the Power Amplifier and is directed in to the electric field of the bulb.
As a result of the high concentration of energy in the electric field, the contents of the bulb
will get vaporized into a plasma state at the bulb’s centre. And this controlled plasma in turn
will produce an intense source of light. All of these subassemblies are contained in an
aluminium enclosure as shown in Fig. 2 above.

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2.2 Li-Fi Bulb sub-assembly:

The bulb sub-assembly is the main part of the Li-Fi emitter. It consists of a sealed bulb
embedded in a dielectric material which serves two purposes: one, it acts as a waveguide for
the RF energy transmitted by the PA (Power Amplifier) and two, it acts as an electric field
concentrate or that focuses the energy into the bulb. The collected energy from the electric
field rapidly heats the material in the bulb to a plasma state that emits light to high intensity
of Visible light spectrum. Figure 3 shows the sub-assembly of the bulb.

Fig2.2.1: Bulb Sub

Assembly

There are various inherent advantages of this approach which includes high
brightness, excellent color quality and high luminous efficiency of the emitter in the range
of 150 lumens per watt or greater. The structure is mechanically robust without typical
degradation and failure mechanisms associated with tungsten electrodes and glass to metal
seals, resulting in useful lamp life of 30,000+ hours. In addition, the unique combination
of high temperature plasma and digitally controlled solid state electronics results in an
economically produced family of lamps scalable in packages from 3,000 to over 100,000
lumens.

Important factors that should be considered while designing Li-Fi are as follows:

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 Presence of Light.
 Line of Sight (Los).
 For better performance use fluorescent light & LED.

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2.3 Working of Li-Fi

Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) technology is a wireless communication system based on the use of
visible light between the violet (800THz) and red(400THz). Unlike Wi-Fi which uses the
radio part of the electromagnetic spectrum, Li-Fi uses the optical spectrum i.e. Visible light
part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The principle of Li-Fi is based on sending data by
amplitude modulation of the light source in a well-defined and standardized way. LEDs can
be switched on and off faster than the human eyes can detect since the operating speed of
LEDs is less than 1 microsecond. This invisible on-off activity enables data transmission
using binary codes. If the LED is on, a digital ‘1’ is transmitted and if the LED is off, a
digital‘0’ is transmitted. Also these LED scan be switched on and off very quickly which
gives us a very nice opportunity for transmitting data through LED lights, because the
reareno interfering light frequencies like that of the radio frequencies in Wi-Fi. Li-Fi is
thought to be 80% more efficient, which means it can reach speeds of up to 1Gbps and even
beyond. Li-Fi differs from fiber optic because the Li-Fi protocol a years are suitable for
wireless communication over short distances(upto10meters).

This puts Li-Fi in a unique position of extremely fast wireless communication over short
distances.

Fig2.3.1 : LiFi Transmission

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2.4 How it Works:

The working of Li-Fi is very simple. There is a light emitter on needed i.e. an LED
transmitter, and a photo detector (light sensor) on the other. The data input to the LED
transmitter is encoded into the light (technically referred to as Visible Light Communication) by
varying the flickering rate at which the LEDs flicker ‘on’ and ‘off’ to generate different strings
of 1s and 0s. The on- off activity of the LED transmitter which seems to be invisible (The LED
intensity is modulated so rapidly that human eye cannot notice, so the light of the LED appears
constant to humans), enables data transmission in light form in accordance with the incoming
binary codes: switching ON a LED is a logical '1', switching it OFF is a logical '0'. By varying
the rate at which the LEDs flicker on and off, information can be encoded in the light to different
combinations of 1s and 0s.

In a typical setup, the transmitter (LED) is connected to the data network (Internet through
the modem) and the receiver (photo detector/light sensor) on the receiving end receives the data
as light signal and decodes the information, which is then displayed on the device connected to
the receiver. The receiver (photo detector) registers a binary‘1’when the transmitter (LED) is ON
and a binary ‘0’ when the transmitter (LED) is OFF. Thus flashing the LED numerous times or
using an array of LEDs (few different colors) will eventually provide data rates in the range of
hundreds of Mbps. The Li-Fi working is explained in a block diagram(Fig.6).

Fig2.4.1 : Block diagram of Li-Fi Sub System

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Hence all that is required, is some or an array of LEDs and a controller that
controls/encodes data into those LEDs. All one has to do is to vary the rate at which the LEDs
flicker depending upon the data input to LEDs. Further data rate enhancements can be made in
this method, by using array of the LEDs for parallel data transmission, or using mixtures of red,
green and blue LEDs to alter the light’s frequency, with each frequency encoding a different data
channel. Figure 7 shows working/deployment of a Li-Fi system connecting the devices in a

room.

Fig2.4.2: Li-Fi system connecting devices in a room

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Li–Fi Technology 2023-24

2.5 Why Visible Light Communication:

The frequency spectrum that is available to us in the atmosphere consists of many wave
regions like X-rays, gamma rays, u-v region, infrared region, visible light rays, radio waves, etc.
Any one of the above wave scan be used in the upcoming communication technologies but why
the Visible Light part is chosen? The reason behind this is the easy availability and lesser
harmful effects that occur due to these rays of light. VLC uses the visible light between 400 THz
(780 nm) and 800 THz (375 nm) as medium which are less dangerous for high-power
applications and also human scan easily perceive it and protect themselves from the harmful
effects where as the other wave regions have following disadvantages:-

 Radio waves are expensive (due to spectrum charges) and less secure(due to interference
and possible interception etc.)
 Gamma rays are harmful because it could be dangerous dealing with it, by the human
beings due to their proven adverse effects on human health.
 X-ray save health issues, similar to the Gamma Rays.
 Ultraviolet light can be considered for communication technology purposes at place
without people, otherwise they can also be dangerous for the human body when exposed
continuously.
 Infrared, due to high safety regulation, can only be used with low power.

Hence the Visible light portion (from red to blue) of the electromagnetic spectrum does not
cause any harm to the people as visible rays are safe to use, provide larger bandwidth and also
have a promising future in the communication field.

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Comparison Between Li-Fi and Wi-Fi and other Radio Communication technologies

Both Wi-Fi and Li-Fi can provide wireless Internet access to users, and both the
technologies transmit data over electromagnetic spectrum. Li-Fi is a visible light communication
technology useful to obtain high speed wireless communication. The difference is: Wi-Fi
technology uses radio waves for transmission, where as Li-Fi utilizes light waves. Wi-Fi works
well for general wireless coverage within building/campus/compound, and Li-Fi is ideal for high
density wireless data coverage inside a confined area or room and is free from interference issues
unlike the Wi-Fi.

Table I shows a comparison of transfer speed of various wireless technologies. Table II shows a
comparison of Li-Fi with Wi-Fi.

Technology Speed
Li-Fi ~1Gbps
Wi-Fi–IEEE802.11n ~150Mbps
IrDA ~4Mbps
Bluetooth ~3Mbps
NFC ~424Kbps

Table 2.1 :Comparison of speed of various wireless technologies

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Li–Fi Technology 2023-24

Parameter Li-Fi Wi-Fi

Spectrum Used Visible Light RF
Standard IEEE 802.15.7 IEEE 802.11
Range Based on Light Intensity(<10m) Based on Radio propagation&
interference(<300 m)
Data Transfer Rate* Very high(~1Gbps) Low(100Mbps-1Gbps)
Power consumption Low High
Cost Low High
Bandwidth Unlimited Limited

Table2.2:Comparison of Wi-Fi and Li-Fi

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Li–Fi Technology 2023-24

CHAPTER -03

Advantages and Disadvantages

3.1 Advantages of Li-Fi:
Li-Fi, which uses visible light to transmit signals wirelessly, is an emerging technology
poised to compete with Wi-Fi. Also, Li-Fi removes the limitations that have been put on the user
by the Radio wave transmission such as Wi-Fi as explained above vide 4.1. Advantages of Li-Fi
technology include:

 Efficiency: Energy consumption can be minimized with the use of LED illumination
which are already available in the home, offices and Mall etc. For lighting purpose.
Hence the transmission of data requiring negligible additional power, which makes it
very efficient in terms of costs as well as energy.
 High speed: Combination of low interference, high bandwidths and high-intensity output,
help Li-Fi provide high data rates i.e. 1Gbps or even beyond.
 Availability: Availability is not an issue as light sources are present everywhere.
Wherever there is a light source, there can be Internet. Light bulbs are present
everywhere in homes, offices, shops, malls and even planes, which can be used as a
medium for the data transmission.
 Cheaper: Li-Fi not only requires fewer components for its working, but also uses only a
negligible additional power for the data transmission.
 Security: One main advantage of Li-Fi is security. Since light cannot pass through opaque
structures, Li-Fi internet is available only to the users within a confined area and cannot
be intercepted and misused, outside the area under operation.
 Li-Fi technology has a great scope in future. The extensive growth in the use of LEDs for
illumination indeed provides the opportunity to integrate the technology into a plethora of
environments and applications.

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3.2 Disadvantages of Li-Fi:

Some of the major disadvantages of Li-Fi are:

 Internet cannot be accessed without a light source. This could limit the locations and
situations in which Li-Fi could be used.
 It requires an perfect line-of-sight to transmit data.
 Opaque obstacles on path way scan affect data transmission.
 Natural light, sunlight, and normal electric light can affect the data transmission speed.
 Light waves don’t penetrate through wallsand so Li-Fi has a much shorter range than
Wi-Fi.
 High initial installation cost, if used to set up a full-fledged data network.

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3.3 Applications of Li-Fi:

 Education systems: Li-Fi is the latest technology that can provide fastest speed for
Internet access. So, it can augment/replace Wi-Fi at educational institutions and at
companies so that the people there can make use of Li-Fi with the high speed.
 Medical Applications: Operation theatres (OTs) do not allow Wi-Fi due to radiation
concerns. Usage of Wi-Fi at hospitals interferens/blocks the signals for monitoring
equipments. So, it may have hazardous effect to the patient's health, due to improper
working of medical apparatus. To overcome this and to make OT tech savvy Li-Fi can be
used to access internet and also to control medical equipments. This will be beneficial for
conducting robotic surgeries and other automated procedures.
 Cheaper Internet in Aircrafts: The passengers travelling in aircrafts get access to low
speedInternetthattooataveryhighprice.AlsoWi-Fiisnotusedbecauseitmayinterfere with the
navigational systems of the pilots. In aircrafts Li-Fi can be used for data transmission. Li-
Fi can easily provide high speed Internet via every light source such as overhead reading
bulb, etc. present inside the airplane.
 Underwater applications: Underwater ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) operate from
large cables that supply their power and allow them to receive signals from their pilots
above. But the tether used in ROVs is not long enough to allow them to explore larger
areas. If their wires were replaced with light say from a submerged, high- powered lamp
then they would be much freer to explore. They could also use their headlamps to
communicate with each other, processing data autonomously and sending their findings
periodically back to the surface. Li-Fi can even work underwater where Wi-Fi fails
completely, thereby throwing open endless opportunities for military underwater
operations.
 Disaster management: Li-Fi can be used as a powerful means of communication in times
of disaster such as earthquake or hurricanes. The average people may not know the
protocols during such disasters. Subway stations and tunnels, common dead zones for
most emergency communications, pose no obstruction for Li-Fi.

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 Applications in sensitive areas: Power plants need fast, inter-connected data systems so
that demand, grid integrity and core temperature (in case of nuclear power plants) can be
monitored. The Radio communication interference is considered to be bad for such
sensitive areas surrounding these power plants. Li-Fi can offer safe, abundant
connectivity for all areas of these sensitive locations. Also, the pressure on a power plant.
 Traffic management: In traffic signals Li-Fi can be used to communicate with passing
vehicles (through the LED lights of the cars etc) which can help in managing the traffic in
a better manner resulting into smooth flow of traffic and reduction in accident numbers.
Also, LED car lights can alert drivers when other vehicles are too close.
 Mobile Connectivity: Mobiles, laptops, tablets, and other smart phones can easily connect
with each other. The short-range network of Li-Fi can yield exceptionally high data rates
and higher security.
 Replacement for other technologies: Li-Fi doesn‘t work using radio waves. So, it can be
easily used in the places where Bluetooth, infrared, Wi-Fi, etc. are banned.

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Conclusion
Although there’s still a long way to go to make this technology a commercial success, it
promises a great potential in the field of wireless internet. A significant number of researchers
and companies are currently working on this concept, which promises to solve the problem of
lack of radio spectrum, space and low internet connection speed. By deployment of this
technology, we can migrate to greener, cleaner, safer communication networks. The very concept
of Li-Fi promises to solve issues such as, shortage of radio-frequency bandwidth and eliminates
the disadvantages of Radio communication technologies. Li-Fi is the upcoming and growing
technology acting as catalyst for various other developing and new inventions/technologies.
Therefore, there is certainty of development of future applications of the Li-Fi which can be
extended to different platforms and various walks of human life.

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Li–Fi Technology 2023-24

Future Scope:
As light is everywhere and free to use, there is a great scope for the use and evolution of
Li-Fi technology. Li-Fi could find applications in various sectors including telecommunications,
healthcare, transportation and smart cities. If this technology becomes mature, each Li-Fi bulb
can be used to transmit wireless data. As the Li-Fi technology becomes popular, it will lead to a
cleaner, greener, safer communications and have a bright future and environment. The concept of
Li-Fi is deriving many people as it is free (require no license) and faster means of data transfer.
If it evolves faster, people will use this technology more and more. Additionally, ongoing
research and development efforts aim to overcome current limitations and further enhance the
capabilities of Li-Fi system.

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