Simultaneous Transmission of 5G MMW and Sub-THz Signals Through a Fiber-FSO-5G NR Converged System

Abstract

Simultaneous transmission of fifth-generation (5G) millimeter-wave (MMW) and sub-THz signals through a fiber-free-space optical (FSO)-5G new radio (NR) converged system is successfully achieved. It is an inventive demonstration that utilizes a cross medium of optical fiber, optical wireless, and RF wireless to enhance the aggregate transmission rate to 60 Gb/s. We transmitted 20 Gb/s in the 50-GHz MMW, 100-GHz sub-THz, and 150-GHz sub-THz bands at the same time through the seamless fiber-FSO-5G NR convergence, comprising 20-km single-mode fiber (SMF), 500-m optical wireless, and 2-m (50-GHz MMW)/1-m (100-GHz sub-THz)/0.5-m (150-GHz sub-THz) 5G wireless transmissions. Sufficiently low bit error rate (< forward error correction criterion of 3.8×10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">−3</sup> ) and error vector magnitude (<third-generation partnership project limit of 12.5%) are attained to satisfy the requirements of 5G NR communications in MMW and sub-THz bands. This newly-built fiber-FSO-5G NR converged system shows promise for the development of long-haul wired-wireless transmissions with wider service areas and higher access data rates.