The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Radio over fiber architectures for optical/wireless integration

Radio over fiber architectures for optical/wireless integration
Radio over fiber architectures for optical/wireless integration
Optical fiber based communication has revolutionized the world of wired communication by providing low-attenuation, high-bandwidth communication channels. The field of Radio Over Fiber (ROF)aims at integrating the world of wireless and optical communication to achieve the common aim of faster and more reliable communication for the end user. It involves transmitting RF signals to and from a BS, which carries out centralised signal processing. These RF signals arrive from and are transmitted to a number of remote antennas, where little or no signal processing is done. The ROF technique employs the high-bandwidth, low-attenuation optical fibers for transmitting signals between the BS and the remote antennas. This technique helps in improving the coverage, cellular capacity, data rates and power efficiency.

This treatise takes the reader from the basics to the state-of-the art techniques in a step-by-step manner. In Chapter 2, the basics of the classical Analog ROF (AROF) link are introduced along with its simulation-based analysis. The discussion of the AROF basics also provides an introduction to the various optical components that are employed both in the basic AROF link of Chapter 2 as well as in the more advanced links discussed in the subsequent chapters. After discussing the basic AROF links found in the current literature, Chapter 2 presents and mathematically characterizes a novel AROF architecture along with a discussion of the results obtained through its simulation. Then, we introduce the concepts behind designing advanced ROF links in Chapter 3. We commence with an extensive study of diverse ROF links that were designed using each of the three approaches discussed in Section 1.5, namely the ROF links employing a) performance improvement techniques, b) cost reduction techniques and c) optical RF-generation techniques. In the rest of the thesis, we present novel architectures that were designed employing these three approaches. In Chapter 4, we present three novel architectures that employed both cost-reduction as well as optical RF-generation techniques, while Chapter 5 focuses on the benefits of the performance-improvement technique of Digitized ROF (DROF). A simulation based study of the DROF technique and a novel DROF-based architecture are presented in Chapter 5. The DROF technique improves the attainable performance at the cost of an increased link cost. We conclude in Chapter 6 and propose a range of future research ideas. Amongst others, we propose the employment of Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) in a ROF link as a potential direction of future research. Explicitly, as a first step in this direction, we propose to combine the employment of the cost-saving state-of-the-art Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) with the employment of the improved-performance DROF technique in a single ROF link in order to strike an appealing cost-performance tradeoff. Hence, in Chapter 6, we first discuss the basics of POF-based optical communication and then present the novel proposal of a DROF-based ROF link that employs POF. Additionally, we present our conclusions in Chapter 6, where we provide design guidelines for ROF links and also discuss avenues for future research.
Thomas, Varghese Anthony
01b424f8-b059-4d26-89f3-4823a9c470f3
Thomas, Varghese Anthony
01b424f8-b059-4d26-89f3-4823a9c470f3
Hanzo, Lajos
66e7266f-3066-4fc0-8391-e000acce71a1

Thomas, Varghese Anthony (2015) Radio over fiber architectures for optical/wireless integration. University of Southampton, Physical Sciences and Engineering, Doctoral Thesis, 292pp.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

Optical fiber based communication has revolutionized the world of wired communication by providing low-attenuation, high-bandwidth communication channels. The field of Radio Over Fiber (ROF)aims at integrating the world of wireless and optical communication to achieve the common aim of faster and more reliable communication for the end user. It involves transmitting RF signals to and from a BS, which carries out centralised signal processing. These RF signals arrive from and are transmitted to a number of remote antennas, where little or no signal processing is done. The ROF technique employs the high-bandwidth, low-attenuation optical fibers for transmitting signals between the BS and the remote antennas. This technique helps in improving the coverage, cellular capacity, data rates and power efficiency.

This treatise takes the reader from the basics to the state-of-the art techniques in a step-by-step manner. In Chapter 2, the basics of the classical Analog ROF (AROF) link are introduced along with its simulation-based analysis. The discussion of the AROF basics also provides an introduction to the various optical components that are employed both in the basic AROF link of Chapter 2 as well as in the more advanced links discussed in the subsequent chapters. After discussing the basic AROF links found in the current literature, Chapter 2 presents and mathematically characterizes a novel AROF architecture along with a discussion of the results obtained through its simulation. Then, we introduce the concepts behind designing advanced ROF links in Chapter 3. We commence with an extensive study of diverse ROF links that were designed using each of the three approaches discussed in Section 1.5, namely the ROF links employing a) performance improvement techniques, b) cost reduction techniques and c) optical RF-generation techniques. In the rest of the thesis, we present novel architectures that were designed employing these three approaches. In Chapter 4, we present three novel architectures that employed both cost-reduction as well as optical RF-generation techniques, while Chapter 5 focuses on the benefits of the performance-improvement technique of Digitized ROF (DROF). A simulation based study of the DROF technique and a novel DROF-based architecture are presented in Chapter 5. The DROF technique improves the attainable performance at the cost of an increased link cost. We conclude in Chapter 6 and propose a range of future research ideas. Amongst others, we propose the employment of Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) in a ROF link as a potential direction of future research. Explicitly, as a first step in this direction, we propose to combine the employment of the cost-saving state-of-the-art Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) with the employment of the improved-performance DROF technique in a single ROF link in order to strike an appealing cost-performance tradeoff. Hence, in Chapter 6, we first discuss the basics of POF-based optical communication and then present the novel proposal of a DROF-based ROF link that employs POF. Additionally, we present our conclusions in Chapter 6, where we provide design guidelines for ROF links and also discuss avenues for future research.

Text
final thesis.pdf - Other
Download (5MB)

More information

Published date: November 2015
Organisations: University of Southampton, Southampton Wireless Group

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 387210
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/387210
PURE UUID: 9754829b-4622-49a7-9820-e4242903eab8
ORCID for Lajos Hanzo: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2636-5214

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Feb 2016 11:44
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:23

Export record

Contributors

Author: Varghese Anthony Thomas
Thesis advisor: Lajos Hanzo ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×