Multi-Gigabit Real-Time Signal Processing for Future Converged Networks

The increasing demand for higher data rates in fixed and mobile networks requires the deployment of optical fibre, which is, however, not always possible. In order to bridge such missing links wirelessly, commercial radios support 1 Gbit/s. The main limitation towards higher data rates is the baseband signal processing speed, as the range above 1 Gbit/s is not yet covered by existing chipsets. In this paper, we present a further-developed bidirectional 5 Gbit/s mmwave link, where the previously presented link [1] has been extended so that the major impairment effects on the real radio link, namely the carrier frequency offset (CFO) and I/Q imbalance, are now compensated for. The enhanced system has shown a 5 Gbit/s transmission over a wireless link of approximately 1 m with an average error vector magnitude (EVM) of -16.9 dB. This allows for an error-free transmission using standard Forward Error Correction (FEC) methods.