Analysis of Conventional Direct Detection and Coherent Optical Receivers in Optical Access Networks

This study evaluated the use of GFDM transmission in passive optical networks (PONs) by comparing the performance of coherent and non-coherent optical receivers using OptSim 2023.12sp2 and Matlab 2018b ®. The study concentrated on transmitting 10 Gb/s radio frequency signals over optical fiber, emphasizing the significance of high-speed fronthaul links for 5G networks. The findings demonstrated that coherent detection markedly enhances receiver sensitivity by approximately 3 dB compared to direct detection, thereby augmenting the capacity of optical fronthaul networks despite the elevated cost. Additionally, the study recommended investigating pre- and post-compensation techniques to mitigate signal dispersion in optical fibers for further performance optimization.