Analog radio over fiber solutions for multi-band 5g systems

This study presents radio over fiber (RoF) solutions for the fifth-generation (5G) of wireless networks. After the state of the art and a technical background review, four main contributions are reported. The first one is proposing and investigating a RoF technique based on a dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator (DD-MZM) for multi-band mobile fronthauls, in which two radiofrequency (RF) signals in the predicted 5G bands individually feed an arm of the optical modulator. Experimental results demonstrate the approach enhances the RF interference mitigation and can prevail over traditional methods. The second contribution comprises the integration of a 5G transceiver, previously developed by our group, in a passive optical network (PON) using RoF technology and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) overlay. The proposed architecture innovates by employing DD-MZM and enables to simultaneously transport baseband and 5G candidate RF signals in the same PON infrastructure. The proof-of-concept includes the transmission of a generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM) signal generated by the 5G transceiver in the 700 MHz band, a 26 GHz digitally modulated signal as a millimeter-waves 5G band, and a baseband signal from an gigabit PON (GPON). Experimental results demonstrate the 5G transceiver digital performance when using RoF technology for distributing the GFDM signal, as well as Gbit/s throughput at 26 GHz. The third contribution is the implementation of a flexible-waveform and multi-application fiber-wireless (FiWi) system toward 5G. Such system includes the FiWi transmission of the GFDM and filtered orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (F-OFDM) signals at 788 MHz, toward long-range cells for remote or rural mobile access, as well as the recently launched 5G NR standard in microwave and mm-waves, aiming enhanced mobile broadband indoor and outdoor applications. Digital signal processing (DSP) is used for selecting the waveform and linearizing the RoF link. Experimental results demonstrate the suitability of the proposed solution to address 5G scenarios and requirements, besides the applicability of using existent fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks from Internet service providers for implementing 5G systems. Finally, the fourth contribution is the implementation of a multi-band 5G NR system with photonic-assisted RF amplification (PAA). The approach takes advantage of a novel PAA technique, based on RoF technology and four-wave mixing effect, that allows straightforward integration to the transport networks. Experimental results demonstrate iv uniform and stable 15 dB wideband gain for Long Term Evolution (LTE) and three 5G signals, distributed in the frequency range from 780 MHz to 26 GHz and coexisting in the mobile fronthaul. The obtained digital performance has efficiently met the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) requirements, demonstrating the applicability of the proposed approach for using fiber-optic links to distribute and jointly amplify LTE and 5G signals in the optical domain.Agência 1Este trabalho apresenta soluções de rádio sobre fibra (RoF) para aplicações em redes sem fio de quinta geração (5G), e inclui quatro contribuições principais. A primeira delas refere-se à proposta e investigação de uma técnica de RoF baseada no modulador eletroóptico de braço duplo, dual-drive Mach-Zehnder (DD-MZM), para a transmissão simultânea de sinais de radiofrequência (RF) em bandas previstas para redes 5G. Resultados experimentais demonstram que o uso do DD-MZM favorece a ausência de interferência entre os sinais de RF transmitidos. A segunda contribuição trata da integração de um transceptor de RF, desenvolvido para aplicações 5G e apto a prover a forma de onda conhecida como generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM), em uma rede óptica passiva (PON) ao utilizar RoF e multiplexação por divisão de comprimento de onda (WDM). A arquitetura proposta permite transportar, na mesma infraestrutura de rede, sinais em banda base e de radiofrequência nas faixas do espectro candidatas para 5G. A prova de conceito inclui a distribuição conjunta de três tipos de sinais: um sinal GFDM na banda de 700 MHz, proveniente do transceptor desenvolvido; um sinal digital na frequência de 26 GHz, assumindo a faixa de ondas milimétricas; sinais em banda base provenientes de uma PON dedicada ao serviço de Internet. Resultados experimentais demonstram o desempenho do transceptor de RF ao utilizar a referida arquitetura para distribuir sinais GFDM, além de taxas de transmissão de dados da ordem de Gbit/s na faixa de 26 GHz. A terceira contribuição corresponde à implementação de um sistema fibra/rádio potencial para redes 5G, operando inclusive com o padrão ―5G New Radio (5G NR)‖ nas faixas de micro-ondas e ondas milimétricas. Tal sistema é capaz de prover macro células na banda de 700 MHz para aplicações de longo alcance e/ou rurais, utilizando sinais GFDM ou filtered orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (F-OFDM), assim como femto células na banda de 26 GHz, destinada a altas taxas de transmissão de dados para comunicações de curto alcance. Resultados experimentais demonstram a aplicabilidade da solução proposta para redes 5G, além da viabilidade de utilizar redes ópticas pertencentes a provedores de Internet para favorecer sistemas de nova geração. Por fim, a quarta contribuição trata da implementação de um sistema 5G NR multibanda, assistido por amplificação de RF no domínio óptico. Esse sistema faz uso de um novo método de amplificação, baseado no efeito não linear da mistura de quatro ondas, que vi permite integração direta em redes de transporte envolvendo rádio sobre fibra. Resultados experimentais demonstram ganho de RF igual a 15 dB em uma ampla faixa de frequências (700 MHz até 26 GHz), atendendo simultaneamente tecnologias de quarta e quinta geração. O desempenho digital obtido atendeu aos requisitos estabelecidos pela 3GPP (Third-Generation Partnership Project), indicando a aplicabilidade da solução em questão para distribuir e conjuntamente amplificar sinais de RF em enlaces de fibra óptica

Waveforms for sub-THz 6G: Design Guidelines

The projected sub-THz (100 - 300 GHz) part of the upcoming 6G standard will require a careful design of the waveform and choice of slot structure. Not only that the design of the physical layer for 6G will be driven by ambitious system performance requirements, but also hardware limitations, specific to sub-THz frequencies, pose a fundamental design constraint for the waveform. In this contribution, general guidelines for the waveform design are given, together with a non-exhaustive list of exemplary waveforms that can be used to meet the design requirements.Comment: Paper presented at EuCNC 2023, June 6-9 2023, Gothenburg, Swede

Técnicas de igualização adaptativas com estimativas imperfeitas do canal para os futuros sistemas 5G

Wireless communication networks have been continuously experiencing an exponential growth since their inception. The overwhelming demand for high data rates, support of a large number of users while mitigating disruptive interference are the constant research focus and it has led to the creation of new technologies and efficient techniques. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is the most common example of a technology that has come to the fore in this past decade as it provided a simple and generally ideal platform for wireless data transmission. It’s drawback of a rather high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and sensitivity to phase noise, which in turn led to the adoption of alternative techniques, such as the single carrier systems with frequency domain equalization (SC-FDE) or the multi carrier systems with code division multiple access (MC-CDMA), but the nonlinear Frequency Domain Equalizers (FDE) have been of special note due to their improved performance. From these, the Iterative Block Decision Feedback Equalizer (IB-DFE) has proven itself especially promising due to its compatibility with space diversity, MIMO systems and CDMA schemes. However, the IB-DFE requires the system to have constant knowledge of the communication channel properties, that is, to have constantly perfect Channel State Information (CSI), which is both unrealistic and impractical to implement. In this dissertation we shall design an altered IB-DFE receiver that is able to properly detect signals from SC-FDMA based transmitters, even with constantly erroneous channel states. The results shall demonstrate that the proposed equalization scheme is robust to imperfect CSI (I-CSI) situations, since its performance is constantly close to the perfect CSI case, within just a few iterations.Redes sem fios têm crescido de maneira contínua e exponencial desde a sua incepção. A tremenda exigência para altas taxas de dados e o suporte para um elevado número de utilizadores sem aumentar a interferência disruptiva originada por estes são alguns dos focos que levaram ao desenvolvimento de técnicas de compensação e novas tecnologias. “Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing” (OFDM) é um dos exemplos de tecnologias que se destacaram nesta última década, visto ter fornecido uma plataforma para transmissão de dados sem-fio eficaz e simples. O seu maior problema é a alta “peak-to-average power ratio” (PAPR) e a sua sensibilidade a ruído de fase que deram motivo à adoção de técnicas alternativas, tais como os sistemas “single carrier” com “frequency domain equalization” (SC-FDE) ou os sistemas “multi-carrier” com “code division multiple access” (MC-CDMA), mas equalizadores não lineares no domínio de frequência têm sido alvo de especial atenção devido ao seu melhor desempenho. Destes, o “iterative block decision feedback equalizer” (IB-DFE) tem-se provado especialmente promissor devido à sua compatibilidade com técnicas de diversidade no espaço, sistemas MIMO e esquemas CDMA. No entanto, IB-DFE requer que o sistema tenha constante conhecimento das propriedades dos canais usados, ou seja, necessita de ter perfeito “channel state information” (CSI) constantemente, o que é tanto irrealista como impossível de implementar. Nesta dissertação iremos projetar um recetor IB-DFE alterado de forma a conseguir detetar sinais dum transmissor baseado em tecnologia SC-FDMA, mesmo com a informação de estado de canal errada. Os resultados irão então demonstrar que o novo esquema de equalização proposto é robusto para situações de CSI imperfeito (I-CSI), visto que o seu desempenho se mantém próximo dos valores esperados para CSI perfeito, em apenas algumas iterações.Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e Telecomunicaçõe

Experimental Evaluation of Hybrid Fibre−Wireless System for 5G Networks

This article describes a novel experimental study considering a multiband fibre–wireless system for constructing the transport network for fifth-generation (5G) networks. This study describes the development and testing of a 5G new radio (NR) multi-input multi-output (MIMO) hybrid fibre–wireless (FiWi) system for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) using digital pre-distortion (DPD). Analog radio over fibre (A-RoF) technology was used to create the optical fronthaul (OFH) that includes a 3 GHz supercell in a long-range scenario as well as a femtocell scenario using the 20 GHz band. As a proof of concept, a Mach Zehnder modulator with two independent radio frequency waveforms modifies a 1310 nm optical carrier using a distributed feedback laser across 10 km of conventional standard single-mode fibre. It may be inferred that a hybrid FiWi-based MIMO-enabled 5G NR system based on OFH could be a strong competitor for future mobile haul applications. Moreover, a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based DPD is used to improve the performance of the link. The error vector magnitude (EVM) performance for 5G NR bands is predicted to fulfil the Third Generation Partnership Project’s (3GPP) Release 17 standards

Study on Air Interface Variants and their Harmonization for Beyond 5G Systems

[ES] La estandarización de la Quinta Generación de redes móviles o 5G, ha concluido este año 2020. No obstante, en el año 2014 cuando la ITU empezó el proceso de estandarización IMT-2020, una de las principales interrogantes era cuál sería la forma de onda sobre la cual se construiría la capa física de esta nueva generación de tecnologías. El 3GPP se comprometió a entregar una tecnología candidata al proceso IMT-2020, y es así como dentro de este proceso de deliberación se presentaron varias formas de onda candidatas, las cuales fueron evaluadas en varios aspectos hasta que en el año 2016 el 3GPP tomó una decisión, continuar con CP-OFDM (utilizada en 4G) con numerología flexible. Una vez decidida la forma de onda, el proceso de estandarización continuó afinando la estructura de la trama, y todos los aspectos intrínsecos de la misma. Esta tesis acompañó y participó de todo este proceso. Para empezar, en esta disertación se evaluaron las principales formas de onda candidatas al 5G. Es así que se realizó un análisis teórico de cada forma de onda, destacando sus fortalezas y debilidades, tanto a nivel de implementación como de rendimiento. Posteriormente, se llevó a cabo una implementación real en una plataforma Software Defined Radio de tres de las formas de onda más prometedoras (CP-OFDM, UFMC y OQAM-FBMC), lo que permitió evaluar su rendimiento en términos de la tasa de error por bit, así como la complejidad de su implementación. Esta tesis ha propuesto también el uso de una solución armonizada como forma de onda para el 5G y sostiene que sigue siendo una opción viable para sistemas beyond 5G. Dado que ninguna de las forma de onda candidatas era capaz de cumplir por sí misma con todos los requisitos del 5G, en lugar de elegir una única forma de onda se propuso construir un transceptor que fuese capaz de construir todas las principales formas de onda candidatas (CP-OFDM, P-OFDM, UFMC, QAM-FBMC, OQAM-FBMC). Esto se consiguió identificando los bloques comunes entre las formas de onda, para luego integrarlos junto con el resto de bloques indispensables para cada forma de onda. La motivación para esta solución era tener una capa física que fuese capaz de cumplir con todos los aspectos del 5G, seleccionando siempre la mejor forma de onda según el escenario. Esta propuesta fue evaluada en términos de complejidad, y los resultados se compararon con la complejidad de cada forma de onda. La decisión de continuar con CP-OFDM con numerología flexible como forma de onda para el 5G se puede considerar también como una solución armonizada, ya que al cambiar el prefijo cíclico y el número de subportadoras, cambian también las prestaciones del sistema. En esta tesis se evaluaron todas las numerologías propuestas por el 3GPP sobre cada uno de los modelos de canal descritos para el 5G (y considerados válidos para sistemas beyond 5G), teniendo en cuenta factores como la movilidad de los equipos de usuario y la frecuencia de operación; para esto se utilizó un simulador de capa física del 3GPP, al que se hicieron las debidas adaptaciones con el fin de evaluar el rendimiento de las numerologías en términos de la tasa de error por bloque. Finalmente, se presenta un bosquejo de lo que podría llegar a ser la Sexta Generación de redes móviles o 6G, con el objetivo de entender las nuevas aplicaciones que podrían ser utilizadas en un futuro, así como sus necesidades. Completado el estudio llevado a cabo en esta tesis, se puede afirmar que como se propuso desde un principio la solución, tanto para el 5G como para beyond 5G, la solución es la armonización de las formas de onda. De los resultados obtenidos se puede corroborar que una solución armonizada permite alcanzar un ahorro computacional entre el 25-40% para el transmisor y del 15-25% para el receptor. Además, fue posible identificar qué numerología CP-OFDM es la más adecuada para cada escenario, lo que permitiría optimizar el diseño y despliegue de las redes 5G. Esto abriría la puerta a hacer lo mismo con el 6G, ya que en esta tesis se considera que será necesario abrir nuevamente el debate sobre cuál es la forma de onda adecuada para esta nueva generación de tecnologías, y se plantea que el camino a seguir es optar por una solución armonizada con distintas formas de onda, en lugar de solo una como sucede con el 5G.[CA] L'estandardització de la Quinta Generació de xarxes mòbils o 5G, ha conclòs enguany 2020. No obstant això, l'any 2014 quan la ITU va començar el procés d'estandardització IMT-2020, uns dels principals interrogants era quina seria la forma d'onda sobre la qual es construiria la capa física d'esta nova generació de tecnologies. El 3GPP es va comprometre a entregar una tecnologia candidata al procés IMT-2020, i és així com dins d'este procés de deliberació es van presentar diverses formes d'onda candidates, les quals van ser avaluades en diversos aspectes fins que l'any 2016 el 3GPP va prendre una decisió, continuar amb CP-OFDM (utilitzada en 4G) amb numerología flexible. Una vegada decidida la forma d'onda, el procés d'estandardització va continuar afinant la frame structure (no se m'ocorre nom en espanyol), i tots els aspectes intrínsecs de la mateixa. Esta tesi va acompanyar i va participar de tot este procés. Per a començar, en esta dissertació es van avaluar les principals formes d'onda candidates al 5G. És així que es va realitzar una anàlisi teòrica de cada forma d'onda, destacant les seues fortaleses i debilitats, tant a nivell d'implementació com de rendiment. Posteriorment, es va dur a terme una implementació real en una plataforma Software Defined Radio de tres de les formes d'onda més prometedores (CP-OFDM, UFMC i OQAM-FBMC), la qual cosa va permetre avaluar el seu rendiment en termes de la taxa d'error per bit, així com la complexitat de la seua implementació. Esta tesi ha proposat també l'ús d'una solució harmonitzada com a forma d'onda per al 5G i sosté que continua sent una opció viable per a sistemes beyond 5G. Atés que cap de les forma d'onda candidates era capaç de complir per si mateixa amb tots els requeriments del 5G, en compte de triar una única forma d'onda es va proposar construir un transceptor que fóra capaç de construir totes les principals formes d'onda candidates (CP-OFDM, P-OFDM, UFMC, QAM-FBMC, OQAM-FBMC). Açò es va aconseguir identificant els blocs comuns entre les formes d'onda, per a després integrar-los junt amb la resta de blocs indispensables per a cada forma d'onda. La motivació per a esta solució era tindre una capa física que fóra capaç de complir amb tots els aspectes del 5G, seleccionant sempre la millor forma d'onda segons l'escenari. Esta proposta va ser avaluada en termes de complexitat, i els resultats es van comparar amb la complexitat de cada forma d'onda. La decisió de continuar amb CP-OFDM amb numerología flexible com a forma d'onda per al 5G es pot considerar també com una solució harmonitzada, ja que al canviar el prefix cíclic i el número de subportadores, canvien també les prestacions del sistema. En esta tesi es van avaluar totes les numerologías propostes pel 3GPP sobre cada un dels models de canal descrits per al 5G (i considerats vàlids per a sistemes beyond 5G), tenint en compte factors com la mobilitat dels equips d'usuari i la freqüència d'operació; per a açò es va utilitzar un simulador de capa física del 3GPP, a què es van fer les degudes adaptacions a fi d'avaluar el rendiment de les numerologías en termes de la taxa d'error per bloc. Finalment, es presenta un esbós del que podria arribar a ser la Sexta Generació de xarxes mòbils o 6G, amb l'objectiu d'entendre les noves aplicacions que podrien ser utilitzades en un futur, així com les seues necessitats. Completat l'estudi dut a terme en esta tesi, es pot afirmar que com es va proposar des d'un principi la solució, tant per al 5G com per a beyond 5G, la solució és l'harmonització de les formes d'onda. dels resultats obtinguts es pot corroborar que una solució harmonitzada permet aconseguir un estalvi computacional entre el 25-40% per al transmissor i del 15-25% per al receptor. A més, va ser possible identificar què numerología CP-OFDM és la més adequada per a cada escenari, la qual cosa permetria optimitzar el disseny i desplegament de les xarxes 5G. Açò obriria la porta a fer el mateix amb el 6G, ja que en esta tesi es considera que serà necessari obrir novament el debat sobre quina és la forma d’onda adequada per a esta nova generació de tecnologies, i es planteja que el camí que s’ha de seguir és optar per una solució harmonitzada amb distintes formes d’onda, en compte de només una com succeïx amb el 5G.[EN] The standardization of the Fifth Generation of mobile networks or 5G is still ongoing, although the first releases of the standard were completed two years ago and several 5G networks are up and running in several countries around the globe. However, in 2014 when the ITU began the IMT-2020 standardization process, one of the main questions was which would be the waveform to be used on the physical layer of this new generation of technologies. The 3GPP committed to submit a candidate technology to the IMT-2020 process, and that is how within this deliberation process several candidate waveforms were presented. After a thorough evaluation regarding several aspects, in 2016 the 3GPP decided to continue with CP-OFDM (used in 4G) but including, as a novelty, the use of a flexible numerology. Once the waveform was decided, the standardization process continued to fine-tune the frame structure and all the intrinsic aspects of it. This thesis accompanied and participated in this entire process. To begin with, this dissertation evaluates the main 5G candidate waveforms. Therefore, a theoretical analysis of each waveform is carried out, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses, both at the implementation and performance levels. Subsequently, a real implementation on a Software Defined Radio platform of three of the most promising waveforms (CP-OFDM, UFMC, and OQAM-FBMC) is presented, which allows evaluating their performance in terms of bit error rate, as well as the complexity of its implementation. This thesis also proposes the use of a harmonized solution as a waveform for 5G and argues that it remains a viable option for systems beyond 5G. Since none of the candidate waveforms was capable of meeting on its own with all the requirements for 5G, instead of choosing a single waveform, this thesis proposes to build a transceiver capable of building all the main waveforms candidates (CP-OFDM, P-OFDM, UFMC, QAM-FBMC, OQAM-FBMC). This is achieved by identifying the common blocks between the waveforms and then integrating them with the rest of the essential blocks for each waveform. The motivation for this solution is to have a physical layer that is capable of complying with all aspects of beyond 5G technologies, always selecting the best waveform according to the scenario. This proposal is evaluated in terms of complexity, and the results are compared with the complexity of each waveform. The decision to continue with CP-OFDM with flexible numerology as a waveform for 5G can also be considered as a harmonized solution, since changing the cyclic prefix and the number of subcarriers, changes also the performance of the system. In this thesis, all the numerologies proposed by the 3GPP are evaluated on each of the channel models described for 5G (and considered valid for beyond 5G systems), taking into account factors such as the mobility of the user equipment and the operating frequency. For this, a 3GPP physical layer simulator is used, and proper adaptations are made in order to evaluate the performance of the numerologies in terms of the block error rate. Finally, a sketch of what could become the Sixth Generation of mobile networks or 6G is presented, with the aim of understanding the new applications that could be used in the future, as well as their needs. After the completion of the study carried out in this thesis, it can be said that, as stated from the beginning, for both 5G and beyond 5G systems, the solution is the waveform harmonization. From the results obtained, it can be corroborated that a harmonized solution allows achieving computational savings between 25-40% for the transmitter and 15-25% for the receiver. In addition, it is possible to identify which CP-OFDM numerology is the most appropriate for each scenario, which would allow optimizing the design and deployment of 5G networks. This would open the door to doing the same with 6G, i.e., a harmonized solution with different waveforms, instead of just one as in 5G.Flores De Valgas Torres, FJ. (2020). Study on Air Interface Variants and their Harmonization for Beyond 5G Systems [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/164442TESI

Theoretical Analysis and Performance Comparison of multi-carrier Waveforms for 5G Wireless Applications

5G wireless technology is a new wireless communication system that must meet different complementary needs: high data rate for mobile services, low energy consumption and long-range for connected objects, low latency to ensure real-time communication for critical applications and high spectral efficiency to improve the overall system capacity. The waveforms and associated signals processing, present a real challenge in the implementation for each generation of wireless communication networks. This paper presents the diverse waveforms candidate for 5G systems, including: CE-OFDM (Constant Envelope OFDM), Filter-Bank Multi Carrier (FBMC), Universal Filtered Multi-Carrier (UFMC) and Filtered OFDM (F-OFDM). In this work, simulations are carried out in order to compare the performance of the OFDM, CE-OFDM, F-OFDM, UFMC and FBMC in terms of Power spectral density (PSD) and of Bit Error Rate (BER). It has been demonstrated that (CE-OFDM), constitutes a more efficient solution in terms of energy consumption than OFDM signal. Moreover, the (F-OFDM), (UFMC) and (FBMC) could constitute a more efficient solution in terms of power spectral density, spectral efficiency and bit error rates. In fact, CE-OFDM reduces the Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) associated with OFDM system, FBMC is a method of improving out-of-band (OOB) characteristic by filtering each subcarrier and resisting the inter-carrier interference (ICI). While, UFMC offers a high spectral efficiency compared to OFDM

Sensing Integrated DFT-Spread OFDM Waveform and Deep Learning-powered Receiver Design for Terahertz Integrated Sensing and Communication Systems

Terahertz (THz) communications are envisioned as a key technology of next-generation wireless systems due to its ultra-broad bandwidth. One step forward, THz integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) system can realize both unprecedented data rates and millimeter-level accurate sensing. However, THz ISAC meets stringent challenges on waveform and receiver design to fully exploit the peculiarities of THz channel and transceivers. In this work, a sensing integrated discrete Fourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (SI-DFT-s-OFDM) system is proposed for THz ISAC, which can provide lower peak-to-average power ratio than OFDM and is adaptive to flexible delay spread of the THz channel. Without compromising communication capabilities, the proposed SI-DFT-s-OFDM realizes millimeter-level range estimation and decimeter-per-second-level velocity estimation accuracy. In addition, the bit error rate (BER) performance is improved by 5 dB gain at the $10^{-3}$ BER level compared with OFDM. At the receiver, a deep learning based ISAC receiver with two neural networks is developed to recover transmitted data and estimate target range and velocity, while mitigating the imperfections and non-linearities of THz systems. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that the proposed deep learning methods can realize mutually enhanced performance for communication and sensing, and is robust against Doppler effects, phase noise, and multi-target estimation