Transmission Performance of mm-Waves on Radio over Fiber Systems: Dispersion and Intermodulation Issues

Abstract

Abstract. Next generation wireless networks must provide high broadband access, which can be achieved by combining the fiber optics and wireless technologies. In this paper we analyze a mm-wave radio over fiber (RoF) optical access network architecture, combining radio subcarrier multiplexing techniques to improve system efficiency with fiber dispersion mitigation provided by optical single sideband modulation techniques. Our results show the system degradation introduced by the fiber link, namely fiber dispersion and intermodulation effects.

Improvements on the performance of subcarrier multiplexing/wavelength division multiplexing based radio over fiber system

“…When the RF signal is transferred to the optical domain using an optical modulator, two side-bands will be created in the frequency domain. This double side-band (DSB) signal is affected by the chromatic dispersion [15][16][17], the fiber length, the fiber dispersion parameter, the wavelength, and the modulation frequency, which creates a phase difference between the two bands to reduce system performance. To overcome this phenomenon, we can use some techniques such as: to use dispersion-compensating optical fibers [18], an optical filter (Bragg grating filter) to eliminate one side-band, or using advanced modulations to achieve an optical single-sideband (OSSB) signal.…”