RACE R2005: Microwave optical duplex antenna link

The paper describes the results to date of the RACE project R2005. The project addresses the optical generation and fibre delivery of mm-wave signals for future mobile radio and remote customer access connections. The authors identify potential application areas and appropriate performance targets for such fibre/mm-wave systems. The major issue identified is the need to achieve low-cost antenna units due to the large number of such units that would be required; this arises from the limited propagation distances achievable at mm-wave frequencies. A brief review of current optical methods for the generation of mm-waves allows the identification of the inadequacies of these techniques and leads to a description of a new method, developed for the project, that overcomes most of the disadvantages outlined earlier.