Electro-optic beamforming for seamless wireless-to-optical digital constellation-mapping

Abstract

<p>In this paper, we show that seamless wireless-to-optical constellation-mapping is inherently governed by the direction of wireless reception. This lays the foundation for seamless electro-optic beamforming in wireless-over-optical links. We show that seamless electro-optic beamforming is governed by (i) direction-dependent electro-optic array-factor of the beamformer, and (ii) direction-dependent effective wireless constellation-rotation. The analytical conditions and design equations for enhancing the spatial selectivity of electro-optic beamformers are discussed in detail. The inadvertent nature of secondary maximas of the electro-optic array-factor is pointed out. We also highlight the impact of effective wireless constellation-rotation on seamless constellation-mapping. Further, we propose a seamless electro-optic beamforming configuration that enables wireless-spatial to optical-wavelength division multiplexing. The theoretical contributions presented in this paper are crucial for further investigation and practical realization of seamless wireless-over-optical links in next-generation communication systems like B5G and 6G.<br> <br> </p>