Experimental and theoretical performance assessment of WiFi-over-fiber using low cost directly modulated VCSELs

In this work, an in-depth analysis concerning the transmission performance of IEEE802.11g/n WiFi signals in a radio-over-fiber system is presented. Low-cost optical/electrical transceivers based on 850 nm vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and PIN photodiodes are considered. System modelling includes the impact of noise generated in the optical path, such as relative intensity noise (RIN), shot noise, photodetector thermal noise, clipping and intermodulation distortion. Analytic results based on Volterra series analysis for the performance of the system in terms of SNR and EVM for several optical modulation index values are obtained. The theoretical analysis is also compared with experimental results. Among several conclusions, it is observed that the laser intermodulation distortion, clipping and RIN are the most relevant factors.