Real-Time Software-Reconfigurable Hybrid In-House Access With OFDM-NOMA

In this paper, a real-time software-reconfigurable orthogonal frequency division multiplexing based non-orthogonal multiple access (OFDM-NOMA) scheme with dynamic power allocation is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for hybrid in-house access over single-mode fiber (SMF) and visible light communication (VLC). Such hybrid access can provide both wired and wireless transmission, which can accommodate the increasingly heterogeneous in-home network and realize seamless coverage. The fiber link is used to provide high-speed and stable transmission for a wired user whilst the VLC link can support flexible and secured wireless access. With the help of power-domain multiplexing based NOMA, the power ratio between both the fiber user and the VLC user can be adjusted in a software-reconfigurable manner, which can satisfy various user demands and also ensure user fairness. Experimental results validate that an aggregate data rate of 1.84 Gbit/s can be achieved in a 1-GSa/s hybrid access system. In addition, it is demonstrated that the power ratio between the fiber user and the VLC user can be adjusted in real-time, facilitating the optimal overall system bit error rate (BER) performance and hence the balanced user fairness. The proposed real-time software-reconfigurable dynamic power allocation scheme for OFDM-NOMA is a promising scheme for the future heterogeneous in-house network, as it allows the flexible power allocation according to users' demands and enables better user fairness.