Detecting WDM visible light signals by a single multi-color photodiode with MIMO processing.

For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, we experimentally demonstrate that multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) processing allows using a single photodiode to detect simultaneously a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) visible light communications (VLC) signal. The photodiode has a triple junction, and when it is illuminated by a WDM signal, the junctions produce inherently three photocurrents that are unusable for detecting any of the WDM signals. However, by means of linear MIMO processing, we are able to recover the transmitted signals exactly. Bit error rate measurements confirm the effectiveness of the proposed solution. This opens a new scenario for practical WDM-VLC systems.