Radio-over-fiber systems for next generation wireless access

Over the last decade a tendency towards increasing demand for broadband wireless services is one of the driving factors for research and development. In order to connect the installed fiber optic backbone with remote wireless base stations at those frequencies full optical access networks are expected to play a key role for future system architectures. This Radio-over-Fiber-Systems combining optical and wireless access are one of the most dynamic topics in current research on broadband communications. The paper will introduce into the field of Radio over Fiber systems, analysing the underlying principles on system level. The main problems arising from the characteristic of the fiber-optic link are evaluated in terms of their effect on the system performance. Finally different system architectures will be presented in order to provide an introduction into Radio-over-Fiber-Systems as technology for next generation wireless access.