Optically Powered Radio-Over-Fiber Systems in Support of 5G Cellular Networks and IoT

• Published in: Journal of lightwave technology Vol. 39; no. 13; pp. 4262 - 4269
• Main Authors: Al-Zubaidi, Fahad M. A., Lopez-Cardona, Juan Dayron, Sanchez Montero, David, Vazquez, Carmen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.07.2021; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: 5G mobile communication; Adaptive optics; Cellular communication; Cellular radio; chromatic dispersion; Communications systems; Data transmission; Design parameters; error vector magnitude; Internet of Things; Optical fiber dispersion; Optical fiber networks; Optical fiber sensors; Optical fibers; Optical network units; Photovoltaic cells; power-over-fiber; radio access network; radio-over-fiber; small cell
• ISSN: 0733-8724; 1558-2213
• DOI: 10.1109/JLT.2021.3074193

We propose using power-over-fiber (PoF) in some part of future 5G cellular solutions based on radio access networks considering currently installed front-haul solutions with single mode fiber to optically power communication systems for 5G new radio (NR) data transmission. Simulations addressing design parameters are presented. Radio-over-fiber (RoF) transmission over single mode fiber (SMF) is experimentally implemented and tested for link lengths ranging from 100 m up to 10 km with injected PoF signals up to 2 W. 64QAM, 16QAM and QPSK data traffic of 100 MHz bandwidth are transmitted simultaneously with the PoF signal showing an EVM compliant with 5G NR standard, and up to 0.5 W for 256QAM. EVM of 4.3% is achieved with RF signal of 20 GHz and QPSK modulation format in coexistence with delivering 870 mW of optical power to a photovoltaic cell (PV) after 10 km-long SMF link. Using PoF technology to optically powering remote units and Internet-of-Things (IoT) solutions based on RoF links is also discussed.