TITAN Director Professor Harald Haas recently delivered a short course on Optical Wireless Technologies, Systems and Applications at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition 2025. Held at the Moscone…
TITAN Director Professor Harald Haas recently delivered a short course on Optical Wireless Technologies, Systems and Applications at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition 2025. Held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from 30 March to 03 April 2025, the OFC conference brought together leading experts, industry pioneers, and academic thought leaders in optical communications, and Professor Haas’s session was a standout event.
Professor Haas presented an in-depth exploration of optical wireless communications, which provided a comprehensive introduction to the field by distinguishing traditional Free-Space Optical (FSO) outdoor point-to-point data links from the emerging domain of mobile multiuser optical wireless communications. The session was structured to offer both a theoretical framework and practical insights into the development of next-generation optical networks.
Throughout the course, Professor Haas methodically addressed key challenges and technological innovations, including the conservation of étendue, optical passband shifts, and the critical considerations of eye safety. The curriculum examined vital system components such as optical sources, detectors, and both imaging and non-imaging optics, while also delving into advanced physical layer technologies like angular diversity receivers, multicarrier and spatial modulation, and wavelength division multiplexing. His discussion extended to the strategic management of co-channel interference and the application of Optical Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) to enhance indoor coverage and link resilience.
An important highlight of the course was the examination of the recently released IEEE 802.11bb LiFi standard, providing participants with valuable insights into how these technological advancements are paving the way toward the integration of optical wireless communications with emerging 6G technologies. Attendees left the session equipped with the knowledge to design eye-safe, high-speed optical transceivers and to evaluate critical system performance parameters in both point-to-point and dense multi-user environments.
Reflecting on the impact of this course, TITAN remains committed to fostering a deeper understanding of the technologies that are shaping the future of optical wireless communications. The success of Professor Haas’s session at OFC 2025 is a testament to the ongoing innovation and collaboration within our industry, and we look forward to continuing to support such transformative educational opportunities at TITAN.
TITAN is part of the Federated Telecoms Hubs (FTH) alongside CHEDDAR, HASC, and JOINER. Together, we conduct world-leading R&D and create a new knowledge-sharing framework, roadmap technology, develop skills, and engage with standards while instilling a commercialisation-focused mindset across academia.
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