High-speed fiber-wireless-fiber system in the 100-GHz band using a photonics-enabled receiver and optical phase...

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics and Communications Engineering
• High-Frequency Signal Processing
• Next-Generation Wireless Networks

Background:

• Fiber-wireless-fiber systems are crucial for high-capacity communication networks.
• Existing systems face challenges in achieving high speeds and cost-effectiveness at millimeter-wave frequencies.
• The 100-GHz band offers significant bandwidth for future wireless applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a high-speed, simple fiber-wireless-fiber system in the 100-GHz band.
• To leverage photonics for efficient signal processing at the antenna site and receiver.
• To enable the deployment of ultra-dense small cells for beyond-5G networks.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a photonics-enabled receiver and optical phase modulator.
• Implemented photonic generation of a remote local oscillator signal for millimeter-wave down-conversion.
• Employed optical phase modulation for signal conversion and direct detection with optical filtering at the receiver.

Main Results:

• Successfully transmitted a 64-quadrature amplitude modulation orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing signal.
• Achieved a record line rate of 80 Gb/s (net data rate of 55 Gb/s).
• Demonstrated the system over two radio-over-fiber links and a 5 m wireless link in the 100-GHz band.

Conclusions:

• The proposed system offers a high-speed yet simple solution for 100-GHz band communication.
• Simple antenna sites and optical transceivers facilitate ultra-dense small cell deployment.
• This technology is a key enabler for high-frequency bands in beyond-5G networks.