Indoor channel modelling and characterization for visible light communications

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate channel modeling for visible light communications using ray tracing approach. The simulation environment is created in Zemax <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">®</sup> and enables us to specify the geometry of the environment, the objects inside, the reflection characteristics of the surface materials as well as the specifications of the light sources and receivers. The received optical power and the delay of direct/indirect rays are computed for the specified indoor environment and the corresponding channel impulse response (CIR) is obtained through proper normalizations. Following this methodology, we present CIRs for a number of indoor environments and quantify multipath channel parameters gain for each environment.