Implementation of a broadband photonics-assisted RF amplifier toward 5G networks

We report the implementation of a photonics-assisted RF amplifier for broadband and multiband 5G networks. A 2 Gsymb/s signal with different digital modulation formats at 20 GHz and a 100 Msymb/s high-order digital modulated signal at 6 GHz have been used for characterizing the proposed technology as a function of the RF gain, signal-to-noise ratio and error vector magnitude. Experimental results demonstrate RF amplification, reconfigurability, distortion absence and low phase noise levels through 6, 20 and 38 GHz frequency bands, which have been considered potential for the future 5G networks.