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Optical wireless communication (OWC), also called free-space optical communication, has recently evolved in many significant ways, and is now employed in a wide range of applications from terrestrial to space. Examples include optical inter-satellite links for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite, airborne or terrestrial optical wireless links for backhaul/fronthaul networks, and indoor visible light communication that piggybacks wireless data transfer to solid-state lighting infrastructure. OWC offers the uses of unlicensed spectrum, has much larger bandwidth than legacy radio frequency (RF) systems, and is naturally more secure with low probability-of-intercept. However, as these optical wireless systems and components are becoming more common, new design challenges emerge in their integration to the mainstream wireless communication technologies. To enable future 6G applications requiring gigabit-per-second wireless speeds, OWC solutions, embodying hardware with efficient and appropriate form factor as well as smart algorithmic approaches to manage multitude of underlying resources, are needed. The aim of this Feature Topic is to present the technological advancement and challenges of OWC in terms of system design as well as theoretical modeling aspects. Prospective authors are invited to submit articles on topics including, but not limited to:

• Gigabit OWC modulation schemes
• Free-space optical beam propagation models for extra-terrestrial (Earth-to-Mars) applications
• Smart pointing-and-acquisition methods for OWC
• Optoelectronic devices and systems for OWC
• Localization using OWC
• OWC in high-altitude platforms (HAPs)
• Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISLs)
• 3D RF/OWC backhaul mesh networks
• Topology control and routing in RF/OWC X-haul networks
• High-speed Internet provisioning to rural areas using OWC
• Economic viability studies of OWC

Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts should conform to the standard format as indicated in the Manuscript Submission Guidelines in the IEEE Communications Magazine website. Please, check these guidelines carefully before submitting since submissions not complying with them will be administratively rejected without review.

All manuscripts to be considered for publication must be submitted by the deadline through Author Portal. Select the “Series Optical Wireless in Space, 6G, and X-haul Networks” topic from the drop-down menu of topics. Please observe the dates specified here below noting that there will be no extension of the submission deadline.

Important Dates

Manuscript Submission Deadline: 15 May 2023
Decision Notification: 30 June 2023
Final Manuscript Due: 31 August 2023
Publication Date: Fourth Quarter 2023

Guest Editors

Murat Yuksel (Lead Editor)
University of Central Florida, USA

Morio Toyoshima
NIICT, Japan

Baris Erkmen
Hedron, USA