Adaptive asymmetric linearization of radio over fiber links for wireless access

The biggest concern in the use of radio-over-fiber (ROF) links in wireless access is their limited dynamic range due to nonlinear distortion (NLD). In this paper, a higher order adaptive filter based nonlinearity compensation scheme is proposed. Pre-compensation is done for the downlink while post-compensation is done for the uplink to result in asymmetry with respect to complexity. This centralized signal processing is attractive in that it keeps the remote unit simple. Accurate measurements of ROF link parameters are not required with this approach because the filters are adapted from the distortion of the input/output base band signal. This technique also facilitates fast tracking of modifications and drifts in the link characteristics. Measurements and simulation results show that gradually saturating amplitude nonlinearity can be adequately linearized with some backoff from the clipping limit. A 42% backoff is required for pre-compensation to protect the laser while only a 16.7% backoff is required for post-compensation. Phase pre-compensation is accomplished with a higher accuracy than phase post-compensation.