Colorless WDM-PON employing Tunable VCSELs and Carrier Reuse as a 5G Analog Fronthaul

WDM-PON is currently being considered for the standardization of 50G-PON, particularly for the fronthaul deployment of 5G networks. However, to be a viable candidate for this demanding application WDM-PON configuration must offer reduced costs and be free of inventory problems. The solution is to employ colorless sources, where the same hardware can be used regardless of the wavelength. In this regard, this paper presents a WDM-PON topology employing tunable Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) and a carrier reuse scheme based on Reflective Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (RSOAs) as a 5G Analog Fronthaul configuration. Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) results are within the specifications imposed by 3GPP when operating at 3.5 GHz with 1.25 Gbps and 26 GHz with 10 Gbps.