Two-Way 5G NR Fiber-Wireless Systems Using Single-Carrier Optical Modulation for Downstream and Phase Modulation Scheme for Upstream

Abstract

Fifth-generation (5G) millimeter-wave (MMW)/sub-THz signals over a two-way fiber-wireless system using single-carrier optical modulation for downstream and phase modulation (PM) scheme for upstream are proposed and implemented for the first time. Compared to multi-carrier optical modulation, using single-carrier optical modulation in downlink is attractive because it can suppress RF power fading due to fiber dispersion and interference caused by optical beating from multiple carriers. Furthermore, compared to intensity modulation scheme, using PM scheme with remotely injection-locked distributed feedback laser diode in uplink is attractive because it enables high robustness to noise and distortion. Through 40-km single-mode fiber, 500-m free-space optical, and 2-m/1-m/0.5-m (downstream)/4-m (upstream) RF wireless cascaded-medium, 5G new radio (NR) MMW/sub-THz signals are transported with low bit error rates and clear constellations in downlink/uplink performance. Such a newly-built two-way 5G NR fiber-wireless system shows promise to perform 5G NR evolution in MMW and sub-THz frequencies, which has significant impacts on fiber-wireless integration.