Design and development of printed antenna remote units for optically distributed mobile communications

The first demonstration of a printed antenna remote unit (ARU) for optically distributed mobile communications compliant with the 1.9 GHz PCN specifications is presented. The ARU consists of a cavity-backed printed antenna with appropriate RF and photonic circuitry. The ARU is low cost, compact, robust, and can be easily positioned in typical microcell/picocell sites. A summary of the design procedure for the ARU and the measured results are given. The developed ARU is a key component for the successful deployment of future optically distributed microcellular mobile communications systems.