Overcoming the rate-power trade-off: multi-junction photovoltaic receivers for efficient near-infrared power and gigabit data transmission

—Photonic power converters are promising receivers for simultaneous optical wireless information and power transfer systems. Fundamental trade-offs between generated power and data transmission speed, however, have constrained device performance. Here, we demonstrate that multi-junction architectures overcome these limitations, enabling concurrent optimization of both metrics. We introduce and validate a semi-empirical model describing static and dynamic responses of multi-junction devices. Our 4-junction InGaAsP photovoltaic receivers achieve 55.9% ± 2.0% power conversion efficiency at 27.1 W/cm² (1.45 µm) and 2.23 Gb/s using direct current-biased optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with adaptive bit and power loading. Over a 3‑m eye‑safe link at 1.53 µm, we simultaneously achieve 1.58 mW harvested power and 1.58 Gb/s. These results establish multi-junction photonic power converters as practical receivers and provide a solid framework for designing efficient optical wireless power transfer and communication systems.