Analog Radio Over Fiber Aided C-RAN: Optical Aided Beamforming for Multi-User Adaptive MIMO Design
Given the increasing demand for high data-rate, high-performance wireless communications services, the demand on the radio access networks (RAN) has been increasing significantly, where optical fiber has been widely used both for the backhaul and fronthaul. Additionally, advances in signal processin...
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| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Communications and Networks |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frcmn.2021.725976/full |
| _version_ | 1819102807429480448 |
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| author | Yichuan Li Salman Ghafoor Muhammad Fasih Uddin Butt Muhammad Fasih Uddin Butt Mohammed El-Hajjar |
| author_facet | Yichuan Li Salman Ghafoor Muhammad Fasih Uddin Butt Muhammad Fasih Uddin Butt Mohammed El-Hajjar |
| author_sort | Yichuan Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Given the increasing demand for high data-rate, high-performance wireless communications services, the demand on the radio access networks (RAN) has been increasing significantly, where optical fiber has been widely used both for the backhaul and fronthaul. Additionally, advances in signal processing such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques, have improved the performance as well as transmission rate of communications networks. Beamforming has been used as an efficient MIMO technique for providing a signal to noise ratio (SNR) gain as well as reducing the multi-user interference. However, beamforming requires the employment of phase-shifters, which suffers from reduced phase resolutions, degraded noise figures as well as beam-squinting in addition to the implementation challenges. Hence, in this paper we employ an analogue radio over fiber (A-RoF) aided architecture for supporting the requirements of the current and future mobile networks, where we design a photonics aided beamforming technique in order to eliminate the bulky electronic phase-shifters and the beam-squinting effect, while also providing a low-cost RAN solution. Additionally, this photonics aided beamforming is combined with a reconfigurable multi-user MIMO technique, where users can communicate with one or multiple remote radio heads (RRHs), while employing stand-alone beamforming, beamforming combined with diversity or with multiplexing depending on the available resources and the user channel information as well as the quality of service requirements. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:40:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-836ee595b02046ea9f1cf199bc46675b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-530X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:40:26Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Communications and Networks |
| spelling | doaj.art-836ee595b02046ea9f1cf199bc46675b2022-12-21T18:43:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Communications and Networks2673-530X2021-08-01210.3389/frcmn.2021.725976725976Analog Radio Over Fiber Aided C-RAN: Optical Aided Beamforming for Multi-User Adaptive MIMO DesignYichuan Li0Salman Ghafoor1Muhammad Fasih Uddin Butt2Muhammad Fasih Uddin Butt3Mohammed El-Hajjar4Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, ChinaSchool of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, PakistanSchool of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, United KingdomSchool of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, United KingdomGiven the increasing demand for high data-rate, high-performance wireless communications services, the demand on the radio access networks (RAN) has been increasing significantly, where optical fiber has been widely used both for the backhaul and fronthaul. Additionally, advances in signal processing such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques, have improved the performance as well as transmission rate of communications networks. Beamforming has been used as an efficient MIMO technique for providing a signal to noise ratio (SNR) gain as well as reducing the multi-user interference. However, beamforming requires the employment of phase-shifters, which suffers from reduced phase resolutions, degraded noise figures as well as beam-squinting in addition to the implementation challenges. Hence, in this paper we employ an analogue radio over fiber (A-RoF) aided architecture for supporting the requirements of the current and future mobile networks, where we design a photonics aided beamforming technique in order to eliminate the bulky electronic phase-shifters and the beam-squinting effect, while also providing a low-cost RAN solution. Additionally, this photonics aided beamforming is combined with a reconfigurable multi-user MIMO technique, where users can communicate with one or multiple remote radio heads (RRHs), while employing stand-alone beamforming, beamforming combined with diversity or with multiplexing depending on the available resources and the user channel information as well as the quality of service requirements.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frcmn.2021.725976/fulloptical fiberradio access networkbeyond 5Ganalogue radio over fiberbeamfoming |
| spellingShingle | Yichuan Li Salman Ghafoor Muhammad Fasih Uddin Butt Muhammad Fasih Uddin Butt Mohammed El-Hajjar Analog Radio Over Fiber Aided C-RAN: Optical Aided Beamforming for Multi-User Adaptive MIMO Design Frontiers in Communications and Networks optical fiber radio access network beyond 5G analogue radio over fiber beamfoming |
| title | Analog Radio Over Fiber Aided C-RAN: Optical Aided Beamforming for Multi-User Adaptive MIMO Design |
| title_full | Analog Radio Over Fiber Aided C-RAN: Optical Aided Beamforming for Multi-User Adaptive MIMO Design |
| title_fullStr | Analog Radio Over Fiber Aided C-RAN: Optical Aided Beamforming for Multi-User Adaptive MIMO Design |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analog Radio Over Fiber Aided C-RAN: Optical Aided Beamforming for Multi-User Adaptive MIMO Design |
| title_short | Analog Radio Over Fiber Aided C-RAN: Optical Aided Beamforming for Multi-User Adaptive MIMO Design |
| title_sort | analog radio over fiber aided c ran optical aided beamforming for multi user adaptive mimo design |
| topic | optical fiber radio access network beyond 5G analogue radio over fiber beamfoming |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frcmn.2021.725976/full |
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