Clipping Distortion Suppression of Directly Modulated Multi-IF-over-Fiber Mobile Fronthaul Links Using Shunt Diode Predistorter

Herein, we demonstrate clipping distortion suppression of directly modulated multi-IF-over-fiber links using a simple shunt diode predistorter. The dynamic range of a directly modulated analog fiber optic link is limited by nonlinear distortions caused by laser-diode clipping. We investigate the link performance in the context of carrie-to-noise and distortion ratio (CNDR) and error vector magnitude (EVM) requirements when supporting LTE-A services. We also design an analog predistorter with a shunt-diode structure, and demonstrate experimentally that the predistorter has the ability to suppress clipping-induced third-order intermodulation distortions of the link by at most 14 dB. It also improves the CNDR and EVM of the 4-IF-multiplexed LTE-A carriers by 7 dB and 2.9%, respectively.