A Future Proof Reconfigurable Wireless and Fixed Converged Optical Fronthaul Network Using Silicon Photonic Switching Strategies

Broadband access services in the era of 5G and beyond are driving the evolution of optical access networks from a fiber-to-the-home/ fiber-to-the-building infrastructure to a more common access platform, compatible with both wired and wireless broadband services. Accordingly, a flexible optical access network plays a pivotal role in catering to various service requirements. This work proposes a reconfigurable converged optical fronthaul network for wireless and wired services using a 4◊4 microring resonator (MRR) based silicon photonic (SiP) switch fabric. Reconfigurable service selection is demonstrated for wavelength selective, multicast and space switching scenarios. The reconfiguration of digital data and digital radio-over-fiber (DRoF) services for cloud radio access networks (C-RAN) is demonstrated.