Prospects of CMOS technology for millimeter-wave radio-over-fiber applications

Millimeter-wave (mm-wave) Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) can be described as mm-wave wireless links in combination with large bandwidth fiber optic interconnections. CMOS technology demonstrated the potential for wireless applications in mm-wave frequencies with advantages of low power consumption, high level of integration capability with other analog and digital circuits, and potentially low cost for mass production. The fundamental principles of RoF technology and the evolution in structures of 60-GHz RoF systems are described. Several mm-wave CMOS components around 60 GHz, including optoelectronic mixer, low noise amplifier, power amplifier, mixer for downconversion, and receiver front end, are discussed, with the vision of CMOS devices supporting most of the non-optical functional building blocks for an mm-wave RoF system. Certain challenges to making the goal a reality are highlighted.