Demonstration of 3D-Printed Optical Antennas for High-Speed Optical Wireless Communication Using Market-Ready Materials

Year: 2025

Authors: Aresti M., Meucci M., Foggi P., Credi C., Iketani S., Lofrumento C., Catani J.

Autors Affiliation: CNR, INO Ist Nazl Ott, Via Nello Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; LENS European Lab Nonlinear Spect, Via Nello Carrara 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Univ Perugia, Dept Chem Biol & Biotechnol, I-06123 Perugia, Italy; DWS srl, Via Meccan,21 Thiene VI, I-36016 Thiene, Italy; Univ Florence, Dept Chem U Schiff, Via Lastruccia 3, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.

Abstract: We demonstrate the possibility of using 3D-printed, see-through planar elements built with commercially available materials as fluorescent Optical Antennas (OAs) for fast Optical Wireless Communication (OWC). OWC represents a key technology in the forthcoming next-generation communication services (6G), given its intrinsic combination of bandwidth (BW), security, and pervasiveness. In the Visible Light Communication (VLC) approach, ubiquitous white or colored LED sources can also be used as optical transmitters besides providing indoor/outdoor illumination and signaling, strongly fostering the implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. Here, the intrinsic optical properties (such as BW, field of View (FoV), and collection efficiency) of four different fluorescent slabs grown with commercial, non-optical resins typically employed to realize transparent objects are fully characterized, unveiling for the first time their large potential as receivers in VLC applications. Complete VLC communication tests are reported, demonstrating attainable bit rates larger than 70 Mb s-1 with On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation, which could be largely increased toward the Gb s-1 target exploiting high-order modulation schemes. This work can have a profound impact toward the full-fledged implementation of the IoT paradigm, showing that transparent 3D-printed objects can be exploited as optical front ends in a new class of VLC and OWC receivers.

Journal/Review: ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES

More Information: This work was in part supported by the European Union under the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan of Next Generation EU, partnership on Telecommunications of the Future (PE00000001 – program RESTART), in part by the European Union – Next Generation EU, Integrated infrastructure initiative in Photonic and Quantum Sciences – I-PHOQS under Grant Nos. IR0000016, ID D2B8D520, and CUP B53C22001750006, and in part by the project FLUOCOM under the initiative Progetti@CNR by CNR.
KeyWords: fluorescent concentrator; optical functional material; optical wireless communications; optical antenna; stereolithography; visible light communication
DOI: 10.1002/admt.202501029