Phase Modulated Radio-Over-Fiber for Efficient 5G Fronthaul Uplink

Analog radio-over-fiber technology is gaining interest as a potential candidate for radio signal transport over the future fronthaul section of the 5th generation (and beyond) radio access network. In this paper, we propose a radio-over-fiber fronthaul with intensity modulation in the downlink and p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of lightwave technology 2019-12, Vol.37 (23), p.5821-5832
Main Authors: Moutaly, Emine, Assimakopoulos, Philippos, Noor, Shabnam, Faci, Salim, Billabert, Anne-Laure, Gomes, Nathan J., Diakite, Mohamed Lemine, Browning, Colm, Algani, Catherine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
5G mobile communication
5G network
Computer simulation
Engineering Sciences
Fiber technology
fronthaul
Optical fibers
Optical interferometry
Optical modulation
Optical saturation
Optics
Phase modulation
Photonic
Radio signals
radio-over-fiber
Transport
Waveforms
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Analog radio-over-fiber technology is gaining interest as a potential candidate for radio signal transport over the future fronthaul section of the 5th generation (and beyond) radio access network. In this paper, we propose a radio-over-fiber fronthaul with intensity modulation in the downlink and phase modulation with interferometric detection in the uplink, for simplified and power efficient remote units. We conduct an experimental investigation and verification of theoretical and simulation models of the performance of the phase-modulated uplink and demonstrate the ability of such an architecture to transport single-channel and multi-channel 5G-type radio waveforms. Experimentally verified data rates of 4.3 Gbps and simulation-based predictions, using a well matched-to-measurements model of the uplink, of 12.4 Gbps are presented, with error-vector magnitude performance well within relevant standard specifications for 64-QAM.
ISSN:0733-8724
1558-2213
DOI:10.1109/JLT.2019.2940200