Visible Light Communication Stacks With Metasurfaces for More Channels

The patent transitions from a single-layer horizontal arrangement of light-emitting devices to a vertical stacking configuration along the Z-axis. Multiple light-emitting devices (first, second, and third light-emitting devices) are arranged in different layers, with adhesive layers containing metasurfaces positioned between them. This vertical dimensionality expansion enables independent control of each device, creating multiple communication channels across the visible light spectrum, thereby increasing transmission capacity while managing complexity through structured layering.

The patent integrates metasurfaces directly into the adhesive layers that naturally exist between light-emitting devices in the vertical stack. Instead of adding separate metasurface components, the adhesive layers serve dual purposes: providing mechanical bonding between devices and functioning as optical filtering/reflecting elements. This merging approach expands communication channels across the visible light range to increase transmission speed while avoiding additional structural complexity from separate metasurface assemblies.

The adhesive layers in the patent are designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: providing mechanical adhesion between light-emitting devices, filtering specific color lights to enable wavelength-division multiplexing, and reflecting unwanted wavelengths. Each adhesive layer contains a metasurface configured with specific optical properties tailored to its position in the stack, allowing the same basic component type (adhesive layer with metasurface) to serve different optical functions across different layers, thereby improving light intensity and directionality while managing manufacturing complexity through component standardization.