Polychromic microLED emitters for data communications

A micro light-emitting diode (LED) system comprising:

• a backplane;
• a processor disposed on the backplane;
• at least one driver controlled by the processor;
• a microLED array disposed on the backplane, the microLED array having microLEDs selected from a set of microLEDs that include single-color microLEDs in multiple subarrays and polychromic microLEDs, the set of microLEDs configured to be independently driven by the at least one driver to produce optical data on independent subchannels using different colors;
• a photodetector array disposed on the backplane, the photodetector array configured to receive multi-color light from an other microLED array having microLEDs selected from the set of microLEDs, the photodetector array containing photodetectors configured to generate current based on data received from the other microLED array;
• and
• an optical fiber configured to couple data transmission between the microLED array and the other microLED array, the optical fiber including an imaging fiber having sufficient spatial resolution to collect light emitted from multiple channels of the microLED array without crosstalk between channels.

A method of transmitting optical data, the method comprising:

• determining optical data to transmit;
• mapping the optical data to a plurality of colors and driving information to drive microlight-emitting diode (microLEDs) to generate the plurality of colors, the microLEDs disposed in a microLED array and selected from a set of microLEDs that include single-color microLEDs in multiple subarrays and polychromic microLEDs;
• independently driving the microLEDs to produce the optical data on independent subchannels using the plurality of colors;
• and
• transmitting the optical data to a photodetector array through an optical fiber coupled with the microLED array,
• the microLED array being selected from a group of microLED arrays that include:
• a first microLED array that contains multiple subarrays, each subarray including multiple independently-addressable single color microLEDs configured to emit light of different colors and being independently modulated for data communication to an other microLED array, and
• a second microLED array that contains at least one independently-addressable polychromic microLED, each polychromic microLED having independently-addressable multiple active regions, each polychromic microLED configured to emit light selected from among multiple colors provided by the active regions.