Enhanced performance of a 100km directly-modulated radio-over-fibre link using an unfiltered semiconductor optical amplifier

An unfiltered 1310 nm semiconductor optical amplifier is employed as an inline power booster in a low-cost directly-modulated, 100 km radio-over-fibre link to compensate for the attenuation of the fibre. Substantial performance enhancement has been achieved. In addition, an application of this technique within a distributed antenna system with a tree architecture, supporting in excess of 100 antennae, is experimentally simulated.