1.032-Tb/s CPRI-Equivalent Rate IF-Over-Fiber Transmission Using a Parallel IM/PM Transmitter for High-Capacity Mobile Fronthaul Links

We report high-capacity intermediate-frequency-over-fiber (IFoF) transmission using parallel intensity/phase modulators (IM/PM). Thanks to the parallel IM/PM transmitter, we can avoid all the null frequencies caused by dispersion-induced RF power fading. Compared to other techniques to avoid RF power fading, the parallel IM/PM transmitter offers a simple solution because it does not rely on any sophisticated digital signal processing. We transmitted 14x1.2-GHz orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexed signals over a 20-km single-mode fiber using the parallel IM/PM transmitter and achieved a Common Public Radio Interface equivalent data rate of 1.032 Tb/s. Thus, an IFoF system with the parallel IM/PM transmitter shows great potential to be applied to high-capacity mobile fronthaul links in the upcoming fifth-generation mobile system and beyond.