Unraveling “Fiber in the Sky”: Terabit Capacity Enabled by Coherent Optical Wireless
Marco A. Fernandes, Gil M. Fernandes, Bruno T. Brandão, Manuel M. Freitas, Nourdin Kaai, Bas van Der Wielen, John F. Reid, Daniele Raiteri, Paulo P. Monteiro, Fernando P. Guiomar
Abstract
The quest for high-speed optical wireless communications is now entering a new and ambitious phase of pursuing fiber-like capacity over the air. However, legacy optical wireless technologies relying on simple intensity modulation and direct detection will not be up to the challenge of providing Terabit data-rates for wireless communications. Benefitting from the latest developments on coherent optical fiber transceivers, unprecedented optical wireless capacity can now be achieved, effectively enabling the wireless delivery of Terabit-range data-rates. In this work, we exploit advanced features provided by state-of-the-art coherent transceivers, such as symbol-rate and bit-rate adaptability, to enhance the trade-off between capacity and reliability in optical wireless systems impaired by atmospheric turbulence, pointing errors, and Doppler shift. Targeting the digital mitigation of these challenges, a set of different field trials is provided, demonstrating the viability of per-channel bit-rates in the range of 400 Gb/s to 1 Tb/s, applicable to both terrestrial and SatCom scenarios.