Multigigabit W-Band (75–110 GHz) Bidirectional Hybrid Fiber-Wireless Systems in Access Networks

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate multigigabit capacity bidirectional hybrid fiber-wireless systems with RF carrier frequencies at the W-band (75–110 GHz) that enables the seamless convergence between wireless and fiber-optic data transmission systems in access networks. In this study, we evaluate the transmission performances in two scenarios: a fiber-wireless access link that directly provide high-speed connections to wireless end users, and a fiber-wireless-fiber signal relay where a high capacity wireless link can be used to bridge two access fiber spans over physical obstacles. In both scenarios, we compare the transmission performances in terms of achievable wireless distances with and without using a high-frequency electrical power amplifier at the wireless transmitter. A downlink 16-Gbit/s QPSK signal and an uplink 1.25-Gbit/s ASK signal transmission over the two implementations are experimentally evaluated in terms of bit-error-rate (BER) performance. Results show that the use of the power amplifier can extend the wireless distance from ∼1 m to over 15 m in an indoor environment with BER performance within the 7% FEC threshold.