Spectrally efficient hybrid multiplexing and demultiplexing schemes toward the integration of microwave and millimeter-wave radio-over-fiber systems in a WDM-PON infrastructure

Hybrid multiplexing and demultiplexing schemes with the capability to integrate microwave and millimeter-wave frequency radio-over-fiber signals in a wavelength division multiplexed passive optical network (WDM-PON) infrastructure are proposed. The proposed schemes exploit the benefits of a spectrally efficient wavelength-interleaving technique and enhance the performance of optical millimeter-wave signals without employing an additional device. The schemes are demonstrated experimentally with simultaneous transport of 1 Gbit/s baseband, 2.5 GHz microwave, and 37.5 GHz millimeter-wave signals that have the potential to converge last-mile optical and wireless technologies, leading to an integrated dense WDM network in the access and metro domains.