System-Level Model for mmWave-over-Fiber Distributed Antenna Systems

Abstract

A mmWave-over-fiber distributed antenna system (DAS), in combination with highly efficient air-filled substrate-integrated-waveguide (AFSIW) remote antenna units (RAUs), proves to be a prime candidate to counter the harsh propagation conditions that arise at mmWave frequencies. This paper proposes a system-level model to accurately analyze the link quality of a downlink mmWave-over-fiber wireless link in a time-efficient way. The model includes a realistic antenna description, fiber losses, and non-linear effects of the opto-electrical/electro-optical transducers and the electrical amplifiers. This provides in-depth insight into the signal quality at each stage of the link and enables offline link optimization. In addition, the modular nature allows incorporating more advanced wireless channel models/measurements, which can be used to optimize RAU placement in the future. Finally, the model is validated by means of a measurement campaign, demonstrating good agreement.

System-Level Simulation Suite for the Design of mmWave-Over-Fiber-Based Distributed Antenna Systems

“…The proposed model enables fast optimization of the mmWave-over-fiber wireless link between CO and UE while providing more insight into the system's bottlenecks and the signal quality at different stages in the link. This manuscript is an invited extension of our work presented at the PAST2022 conference [21]. This paper now describes the simulation suite (architecture, inputs/outputs, interfaces) in more detail, and extends the conference contribution to multi-beam multi-user support.…”