A combined fibre/free-space-optical communication system for long-haul wireline/wireless transmission at millimetre-wave/sub-THz frequencies

The demands of the technologies of the future such as autonomous vehicles, Internet of Things and mixed reality require communications platforms equipped to handle huge quantities of data. Higher frequency communication bands are attractive but have limitations in terms of data loss particularly during wireless transmission. Free-space optical (FSO) communication, which transmits optical signals through free-space by modulating laser light, is one option for better wireless signal delivery. Here we report a platform combining multiple transmission media of 40-km single-mode fibre, with 1.2-km FSO communication, and short range (0.5-2 m) radio-frequency wireless. We demonstrate sufficiently low bit error rates and error vector magnitudes at sub-terahertz frequencies, satisfying the requirement of 5 G new radio communications applications.