{"686594":{"#nid":"686594","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Ph.D. Dissertation Defense - Lauryn Smith","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETitle\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cem\u003E:\u0026nbsp; Optimization of Lens-Based Antenna Arrays Leveraging Optical-mmWave convergence (RoF) for Simplified Base Stations Enabling Ultra Dense Wireless Networks\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Manos Tentzeris, ECE, Chair, Advisor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Gregory Durgin, ECE\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Andrew Peterson, ECE\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Alberto Campos, CableLabs\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Suresh Sitaraman, ME\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe ever-increasing demands for higher wireless capacity, enhanced coverage, and support for massive network traffic have driven research towards ultra-dense wireless networks (UDNs). However, realizing truly ultra-dense deployment of base stations is challenging for a variety of reasons. Some of the main inhibitors are the complexity, power consumption and cost of conventional base stations, which rely on a large number of high-power, bulky, expensive and narrow-band components. These hardware requirements increase both capital expenditure and operational expenditure, making large-scale deployment difficult. Beyond this, the continual evolution of wireless standards and addition of spectrum demands flexible architectures, which can be upgraded and reconfigured easily without significant build-out costs. This thesis presents simplified base-station architectures enabled by optical and millimeter-wave (mmWave) convergence based on passive, compact beamforming networks and wideband\/multi-band antenna arrays. By centralizing processing and computationally heavy processes at the central office, or hub location, broadband mmWave signals are transmitted via optical fiber to simplified remote radio units (RU). At the RU, only passive, low-complexity beamforming hardware, optical-electrical converters (OE) and amplifiers are needed in the downlink, significantly reducing hardware count, size and power demand. The optical front haul was modeled and simulated in VPIphotonics Transmission Maker. Complementary mmWave simulations of the Rotman lens and antenna arrays in CST Microwave Studio verified multi-beam and multi-band\/wideband performance. These simulations were incorporated into a optical-RF framework which demonstrated consistent beam steering over multi-band\/wideband frequency ranges and effective transmission of multi-GHz-bandwidth signals over fiber links, within standard limits. The results confirm that the converged optical\/mmWave architecture offers a scalable, energy-efficient, and cost-effective pathway for next-generation networks. By simplifying the radio unit and centralizing complexity, the proposed system lowers CAPEX, OPEX, and network build-out costs while maintaining high throughput and flexibility. This work provides a foundation for future 6G-ready, software-defined, remote controlled, and reconfigurable radio units.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Optimization of Lens-Based Antenna Arrays Leveraging Optical-mmWave convergence (RoF) for Simplified Base Stations Enabling Ultra Dense Wireless Networks "}],"uid":"28475","created_gmt":"2025-11-22 07:25:09","changed_gmt":"2025-11-22 07:26:19","author":"Daniela Staiculescu","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2025-12-01T10:30:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2025-12-01T12:30:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2025-12-01T12:30:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2025-12-01 15:30:00","gmt_time_end":"2025-12-01 17:30:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2025-12-01 17:30:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Room 530, TSRB","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"434381","name":"ECE Ph.D. Dissertation Defenses"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"},{"id":"1808","name":"graduate students"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}