A Mini Project Report

On
Simulation of Millimeter Waves (mm Waves) over Free Space Optics
in Optisystem Software

In the partial fulfillment of the requirements for the subject Optical Fiber and System

Project Member:
Anmol Kumar Gupta
(41008)

Submitted to:
Asst Prof. Dr. Anup Thapa

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering

School of Engineering, Kathmandu University
DECEMBER 2022
 ABSTRACT

In recent years, Free-Space Optical Communication (FSO) has garnered increased attention as an
alternative to radio frequency communication. FSO links exhibit high sensitivity to various
environmental factors, presenting a substantial challenge for the development of efficient and robust
systems. In FSO communication, information is transmitted through optical fibers as pulses,
allowing for a significant dynamic range in most designed systems. FSO, operating as a Line-of-
Sight (LOS) technology, involves the transmission of a modulated beam of visible or infrared light
through the atmosphere for broadband communications. This report focuses on exploring the
feasibility and design considerations of Free-Space Optical (FSO) communication integrated with
millimeter waves, specifically targeting 5th generation technology. The investigation is conducted
using OptiSystem software, and the analysis is based on parameters such as Eye diagram,
transmitted power, Q factor, and distance. The aim is to enhance our understanding of the potential
of FSO in conjunction with millimeter waves for advanced communication systems.

Keywords: Free space optic, Millimetres waves, 5G.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ i
Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. 4
1. BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 5
1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Motivation......................................................................................................................... 5
1.3 Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 6
2. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE ............................................................................................. 7
2.1 Transmitter Section ........................................................................................................... 7
2.2 Receiver Section ............................................................................................................... 8
3. OPTISYSTEM SIMULATION AND RESULT ................................................................ 9
3.1 System Simulation ............................................................................................................ 9
3.2 Eye Diagram ..................................................................................................................... 9
4. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 12
5. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 13
 List of Figures
Figure 1: Overall Block diagram of Ro-FSO System .............................................................. 7
Figure 2: Transmitter Section .................................................................................................. 7
Figure 3: Receiver Section ....................................................................................................... 8
Figure 4: System Simulation .................................................................................................... 9
Figure 5: BER Pattern .............................................................................................................. 9
Figure 6: Q Factor .................................................................................................................... 10
Figure 7: Min BER................................................................................................................... 10
Figure 8: Threshold .................................................................................................................. 11
Figure 9: Height ....................................................................................................................... 11
 Abbreviations

RoFSO: Radio Over Free Space Optics

RF: Radio Frequency

FSO: Free Space Optics

WDM: Wavelength Division Multiplexing

CW: Continuous Wave

EDFA: Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier

BER: Bit Error Rate

 1. BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction

As the demand for higher data rates continues to escalate globally, a race to identify the potential
successor of LTE (4G) technology is underway. The primary objectives behind the design of 5G
technology include achieving improved latency of less than 1 ms, data rates ten times greater (10
Gbps), supporting 10,000 times more traffic than LTE, and facilitating heterogeneous network
access. To address these goals, the mm-wave band (20–30 GHz) has been proposed as a potential
carrier. However, utilizing the 20–30 GHz band comes with challenges, such as high attenuation
(~3 dB/m) when transmitted over traditional metallic wires, ultimately limiting the coverage area.
To overcome these challenges, the concept of radio over fiber (RoF) was introduced. RoF allows
for the utilization of the high bandwidth of the mm-wave band with minimal distortion and high
data rates. As urbanization presents challenges in laying fiber due to cost and logistical issues, RoF
has evolved into Ro-FSO (Radio over Free Space Optics), particularly in dense urban and remote
areas. FSO systems prove to be cost-effective in sparsely populated regions, utilizing the
atmosphere as a medium and avoiding the need for licenses compared to RF. Despite the numerous
advantages offered by FSO systems, atmospheric turbulences and scintillations pose limitations
that need addressing for an improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The integration of Ro-
FSO presents a comprehensive strategy that leverages RF wireless networks for high-capacity
traffic handling and a cost-effective communication model. Various multiplexing techniques, such
as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), have been introduced over the years to enhance
system capacity and are widely used in optical networks.

1.2 Motivation

The motivation for the report is to investigate the use of millimeter waves (mm waves) over free
space optics (FSO) systems for 5G applications. 5G networks are expected to provide much higher
data rates and lower latency than current 4G networks. Mm waves are a promising technology for
achieving these goals, but they have high attenuation and are susceptible to interference from
atmospheric conditions.

FSO systems can be used to overcome these challenges by providing a line-of-sight path for the mm
waves.

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 1.3 Objectives

The objectives of the report are to:

 Design and implement a Ro-FSO system that can transmit two independent channels of data
at 5 Gbps each using 60 GHz RF signals.
 Analyze the performance of the system in terms of bit error rate (BER) and eye diagrams.

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 2. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

Figure 1 depicts the architecture of Ro-FSO system modelled in OptiSystemTM Software. Proposed
systems consist of two independent channel carrying NRZ encoded data with 60 GHz RF signal. In
Transmitter side, a continuous wavelength source (CW laser) is used as optical carrier which is
modulated with RF signal and then transmitted over 5,000 m of FSO link. On receiver side as
shown in Figure 1, signal is de-multiplexed and sent to respective channel.

Figure 1: Overall Block Diagram of Ro-FSO System

The system is divided into two main sections: the transmitter section and the receiver section.

2.1 Transmitter Section:

Figure 2: Sub-system carrying Transmitter

1. PRBS (Pseudo-Random Bit Sequence) Generator: This generates a random sequence of

bits that simulates real data traffic. In this simulation, this generator produces input signal of
5 Gbps in normal mode.

2. NRZ Pulse Generator: This converts the PRBS data into Non-Return-to-Zero (NRZ)
pulses, which are either high or low voltage levels representing the 1s and 0s of the data.

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 3. CW Laser: This generates a continuous wave of light at 1550 nm and power of 100 mW.

4. MZM (Mach-Zehnder Modulator): This device modulates the intensity of the laser light
with the NRZ pulses from the NRZ Pulse Generator. When a high voltage pulse is
present, the light intensity is increased, and when a low voltage pulse is present, the light
intensity is decreased. This effectively encodes the data onto the optical carrier.

5. DC Bias Generator: This provides a constant voltage bias to the MZM to control the
operating point of the device. The amplitude of DC bias voltage is 1 a.u. in the simulation.

6. 60 GHz RF Signal: This signal represents the data that is to be transmitted over the FSO
link. It is typically generated by a separate source (Sine Generator) and then fed into the
MZM along with the DC bias.

7. Li-Nb MZ Modulator: The Mach-Zehnder Lithium Niobate modulator combines the

interferometric configuration of a Mach-Zehnder modulator with the electro-optic properties
of lithium niobate. This integration results in a device capable of high-speed and efficient
modulation of optical signals, playing a vital role in advanced optical communication
systems.

8. FSO Channel: The FSO channel is the medium through which the modulated light beams
travel through the air (free space) without the need for physical cables or fiber optics. The
FSO channel here is simulated for 5 Km and with the attenuation of 0.14 dB/Km.

2.2 Receiver Section:

Figure 3: Sub-system carrying Reciever

1. APD (Avalanche Photodetector): This detector converts the optical signal back into an
electrical signal. The APD is sensitive to the intensity of the light, so it can detect the
changes in intensity caused by the data modulation. It is simulated with the gain of 3 units.

2. LPF (Low-Pass Filter): This filter removes any high-frequency noise from the electrical
signal. In the simulation, the cut-off frequency is defined by 0.75 * Symbol rate with 0 dB
insertion loss.

3. BER Analyzer: This instrument measures the Bit Error Rate (BER) of the received
data. The BER is a measure of how many errors occur in the data transmission.

4. Signal Analyzer: This instrument can be used to analyze the received signal in more
detail, such as measuring the eye diagram, which is a visual representation of the signal
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 3. OPTISYSTEM SIMULATION AND RESULT
3.1 System Simulation:

Figure 1: System Simulation

3.2 Eye Diagram:

 BER Pattern:

Figure 2: BER Pattern

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 Quality (Q) factor:

Figure 3: Q Factor

 Minimum BER:

Figure 4: Min BER

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 Threshold:

Figure 5: Threshold

 Height:

Figure 6: Height

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 4. CONCLUSION
Implementation of mm waves with FSO systems has proved to be more efficient in terms of
enhanced data carrying capacity. In this work, high speed WDM Ro-FSO system was
designed to transmit mm waves for 5G net- works. Two channels, each carrying 5 Gbps of
data along with 60 GHz of RF signal transmitted over 5,000 m of free space channel. The
proposed WDM Ro-FSO system was tested by analyzing BER, quality factor and eye
diagrams. The simulative results show successful transmission of both the channels.

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 5. REFERENCES

[1] Shakthi Murugan K H* and M Sumathi: Millimetre Waves Over Free Space Optics System for 5G
Application

[2] A O Aldhaiban1, K S Bin Sahaq , S A Binajjaj , H A Bakarman: Performance Analysis of 5G

Millimeter Waves over Free Space Optics System

[3] Bohata J, Komanec M, Spáčil J, Ghassemlooy Z, Zvánovec S,Slavík R. 24–26 GHz radio-over-
fiber and free-space optics for fifth-generation systems. Opt Lett. 2018;43:1035–8.

[4] Pham Tien D, Kanno A, Kawanishi T. Radio-on-radio-over-fiber: efficient fronthauling for small
cells and moving cells. IEEE Wirel Commun. 2015;22:67.

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