Radio over Fiber Architecture Very High-Speed Wireless Communications in the Unlicensed 60 GHz Band

Abstract

Larger wireless access networks are required to meet the growing demand for mobile traffic and multimedia services. The use of RoF (Radio over Fiber) technology in combination with millimeter waves is a potential response to the requirements of broadband applications and high capacity networks. In this paper, we proposed a RoF architecture able to provide very high-speed wireless access points up to Gbps considering an indoor and outdoor environment conform to IEEE 802.11ad and IEEE 802.15.3c standard. Optical transmission and radio coverage have been studied by considering the uplink and downlink. System performance has been evaluated in the relation to the Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) for various modulation formats (BPSK, QPSK and 16QAM). Results showed that millimeter wave signals are successfully delivered over a 50 km fiber link and a wireless channel up to 32 m. Data throughput up to 5.28 Gbps has been reached. The proposed architecture can extend the range of applications for wireless communications in association with the unlicensed 60 GHz band with the advantages of better capacity, a wider coverage area and a reduction in the investment cost.