Multiband and Photonically Amplified Fiber-Wireless Xhaul

Abstract

We propose and report the implementation of a multiband and photonically amplified fiber-wireless (FiWi) Xhaul based on radio over fiber (RoF) technology and four-wave mixing (FWM) nonlinear effect, aiming 5G applications. The proposed ultra-wideband approach enables to simultaneously transport and amplify multiple radiofrequency (RF) signals through optical links, which might be employed as backhaul, midhaul or fronthaul of cellular systems. The FWM effect, originated from the use of 35-m highly nonlinear fiber piece, gives rise to RF gain, when compared to conventional RoF (CRoF) systems. We demonstrate our technique allows replacing two conventional RF amplifiers with enhanced digital performance and/or significantly increasing the system throughput in 2.4 times, attaining 12 Gbit/s. Furthermore, a dual-band (7.5 and 28.0 GHz) wireless fronthaul, preceded by a 12.5-km optical midhaul, illustrates the multiband and photonically amplified FiWi Xhaul, by means of providing performance in terms of root mean square error vector magnitude (EVMRMS) in accordance to the 3GPP recommendations and at low phase noise level.

Keywords

• 5G networks
• four-wave mixing
• microwave photonics
• optical-wireless networks