A fully integrated IEEE 802.15.7 visible light communication transmitter with on-chip 8-W 85% efficiency boost LED driver

This paper presents the first IEEE 802.15.7 PHY-I standard compliant visible light communication (VLC) transmitter and LED driver SoC for location-based applications using standard white LED lights as beacons or broadcasters. Implemented in a 0.35μm CMOS process with 20-V high-voltage device, the mixed-signal SoC integrates a baseband DSP unit, a VLC modulator, and a switching boost converter with an on-chip power MOSFET. Designed to drive an array of up to 4×5 LEDs using batteries, the boost converter generates an output at 6-20 V from an input at 3-5V with a 92% peak efficiency and an 8-W rating. Measured VLC data rate up to 266 kb/s with 2¹¹-1 PRBS inputs is achieved at a PER of <;10% and transmission efficiency of 5 nJ/bit. The LED driver can simultaneously support nine dimming levels and VLC.