Thermal performance analysis of an all-optical and ultra-wideband RF amplification method for 5G networks

We experimentally investigate the performance of an all-optical and ultra-wideband RF amplification method for 5G networks, as a function of temperature. The proposed approach employs the optical nonlinear effect four-wave mixing for performing photonics-based RF amplification in analog and digital radio-over-fiber systems. The thermal characterization from −10 to +70°C demonstrates a flat photonics-based RF gain from 300 kHz to 50 GHz, as well as no significant phase noise fluctuation due to temperature variation. It illustrates the methodology applicability in real operational conditions of a base station and shows a promising direction to use optical backhauls as active medium for amplifying RF signals besides performing data transmission.