RF communications in the e-city (RF-Cité)

城市是全球经济的发电机，负责大部分创新。城市规划者设想了一个“数字城市”，其中无处不在的宽带无线和计算使运营更加高效和有效。然而，增加的使用超过了能源效率的提高，导致无线接入网络的能源消耗不可持续的增长。RF-Cité的目标是建立无线接入的技术可行性和环境可持续性，以实现“可持续数字城市”的愿景。预期的结果包括对RF光传输的原始架构进行广泛的模拟;用于电子到光学频率上转换;用于在mm波范围内生成和分配频谱纯本地振荡器信号;以及从能耗角度对RF的模拟与数字光传输进行明确评估。这些模拟将通过关键设备和子系统的实验原型来验证。该项目通过倡导相干光射频传输进行创新。该研究是先进的数字信号处理和先进的光子器件相结合的前沿，包括超窄线宽单波长和多波长连续波和锁模半导体激光器，以及增强相干功能的平面光电路。实验工作最大限度地利用了光子技术实验室最近的投资，包括任意波形发生器和先进的光调制分析仪。该项目很重要，因为它符合联邦政府对数字经济的优先考虑。由于大部分人口已经居住在城市地区，加拿大可以成为先锋，从数字城市的出现中获得经济和社会效益，而抓住所产生的商业化机会的加拿大企业可能会获得早期进入市场的好处。此外，该项目将培养高素质和熟练的人才，受益于工业和国际层面丰富的环境，促进向工业界有效转让知识，并帮助他们满足就业需求。

Cities are the dynamo of the global economy responsible for the bulk of innovation. Urban planners envisage a 'Digital City' in which ubiquitous broadband wireless and computing enables operations to be more efficient and effective. However, increased use is outstripping energy efficiency improvements leading to unsustainable growth in the energy consumption of wireless access networks. The goal of RF-Cité is to establish the technical viability and environmental sustainability of wireless access deployed at the density necessary to realise a 'Sustainable Digital City' vision. The expected results include extensive simulations of original architectures for the optical transport of RF; for electronic to optical frequency up-conversion; for generating and distributing spectrally pure local oscillator signals in the mm-wave range; and a definitive assessment of analogue versus digital optical transport of RF from an energy consumption perspective. These simulations will be validated by experimental prototyping of key devices and subsystems. The project innovates through its advocacy of coherent optical RF transmission. The research is cutting edge in combining advanced digital signal processing and advanced photonic devices that include ultra-narrow line width single and multi-wavelength continuous wave and mode-locked semiconductor lasers, and planar light circuits for enhanced coherent functionality. The experimental work maximally leverages recent investments in the Photonic Technology Laboratory including an arbitrary waveform generator and advanced optical modulation analyser. The project is important because it aligns with the federal government's priority on Digital Economy. With the majority of its population already living in urban areas, Canada can be in the vanguard to reap the economic and social benefits of the emergence of digital cities, and Canadian enterprises that grasp the commercialisation opportunities generated may reap the benefits of being early to market. Additionally, the project will develop highly qualified and skilled personnel, benefiting from an environment enriched by an industrial and an international dimension, promoting effective knowledge transfer to industry and helping them fill their employment needs.