60-GHz Photonic Millimeter-Wave Link for Short- to Medium-Range Wireless Transmission Up to 12.5 Gb/s

In this paper, a 60-GHz photonic millimeter-wave link system for short- to medium-range broadband wireless data transmission is investigated. The system employs advanced mm-wave photonic components and radio-over-fiber (RoF) techniques for the generation of a DSB-SC optical mm-wave carrier and its subsequent on-off-keying modulation and transmission. For short-range applications, we have constructed a compact wireless RoF transmitter consisting of a high-frequency photodiode and a mm-wave antenna only. This system achieved error-free (BER = 10(-9), 2(31) - 1 PRBS, NRZ) in-door transmission of 12.5-Gb/s signals over wireless distances up to 3.1 m with a receiver sensitivity as low as -45.4 dBm. For fixed wireless access (FWA) requiring a bit error rate of 10(-4), the maximum transmission distance for 12.5 Gb/s is increased up to 5.8 m. For medium-range broadband wireless transmission an electrical radio-frequency (RF) amplifier was employed in the RoF transmitter. Here we achieved 7.5-Gb/s error-free transmission in out-door line-of-sight experiments over wireless distances of up to 36 m. Based upon the experimental results, we expect that the maximum wireless distance the system could accommodate for 12.5 Gb/s is in the kilometer range when using high-gain antennas and an RF transmitter amplifier with a sufficient bandwidth.