A survey on role of photonic technologies in 5G communication systems

A new generation of mobile communications has been evolving for every 10 years, keeping in mind the enormous data traffic, huge capacity requirements, excellent quality of service with minimal latency; there is a shift in paradigm toward the upcoming 5G technology which is expected to be rolled out by 2020 that promises to meet the requirements stated above. 5G is envisaged to be a merged framework of wide range of applications ranging from device-to-device communications, smart grid to Internet of Things and many more. In this survey paper, a brief discussion on the major pillars of 5G which are millimeter wave technology, massive MIMO, ultra-dense network, beamforming and full-duplex transmission are presented. This survey paper also focuses on the role of optics in 5G technology, sometimes commonly referred to as microwave photonics, an interdisciplinary research platform. Due to huge bandwidth and enormous capacity upgrade, optical fibers are considered to be ideal backhaul and fronthaul media rather than copper cables in order to support small cells and next-generation networks. These advantages of optical fiber technology enable integrated optical and wireless access technologies for 5G wireless communications an interdisciplinary area of research.