VCSEL-Enhanced Holographic Communication for Next-Generation LiFi: State-of-the-Art, Applications, and Future Directions

TL;DR

This paper presents VCSEL-enabled holographic communication for LiFi, integrating high-speed data, environmental sensing, and user positioning to create an adaptive, intelligent optical wireless network system.

Contribution

It introduces a novel VCSEL-based holographic LiFi system that combines communication, sensing, and positioning within a unified architecture.

Findings

Enables multi-gigabit data rates with fine spatial control.

Supports non-line-of-sight operation through environmental sensing.

Transforms LiFi access points into intelligent environmental hubs.

Abstract

Light Fidelity (LiFi) has emerged as a promising wireless technology that exploits the vast unlicensed optical spectrum to complement radio frequency networks. Recent advances in laser-based transmitters, particularly vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays, enable LiFi systems with multi-gigabit data rates, fine-grained spatial multiplexing, and high energy efficiency. However, the highly directional nature of laser beams introduces new challenges related to user mobility, alignment, and dynamic environments. This article introduces VCSEL-enabled holographic communication as a system-level paradigm that addresses these challenges by tightly integrating communication, sensing, and positioning within a single LiFi architecture. The proposed approach leverages individually addressable VCSEL arrays to form a dense grid of controllable beams, while a real-time digital twin of the environment enables adaptive beam management, environmental mapping through sensing, and user localization through positioning, including non-line-of-sight operation. By tightly integrating high-speed data transmission with environmental perception and user tracking, the LiFi access point evolves from a static transmitter into an intelligent environmental hub. The article also provides a tutorial overview of the underlying hardware, system architecture, and operational principles of holographic LiFi, and discusses key applications, open challenges, and future research directions toward next-generation intelligent optical wireless networks.