Aim and Scope:

Photonic and RF Communications Systems have been an inseparable part of the development of current ICT infrastructure. Rapid advances in photonic technologies have been an impetus for deploying photonics in access, storage, backbone and grid networks, hence realizing the long standing quest for transporting data at multi-terabit rates. RF Communications Systems have been an integral part of telecommunications and ICT infrastructure from the very beginning of their existence. In mobile and satellite communication systems, wideband and multi-band RF circuits are important for achieving high-date wireless transmission, and supporting a large number of standards (e.g., UMTS, Bluetooth, WiFi, WiMAX, DSRC, LTE). A wideband or multi-band RF circuit can replace a number of single-band RF circuits, leading to a significant reduction of size, weight and cost of modern wireless systems. Each and every newly introduced type of a wireless network technology is followed by a substantial increase in both the number and the complexity of problems that need to be resolved by theoreticians and engineers.

The objective of this special issue is to bring together the state-of-the-art research contributions that address challenges in emerging devices and architecture for photonic systems and RF Circuits for Wideband and Multi-Band Communications Systems.

Topics of Interest:

The topics of primary interest include, but are not limited to:

- Optical Packet Switching and Optical Burst Switching
- Spectrum-sliced optical networks based on O-OFDM and elastic optical networks
- Emerging devices and architecture in optical networks
- Equipment architecture and performance
- Analytical system modelling and performance evaluation
- Test and measurement in experimental trials of optical transmission and switching systems
- Traffic engineering for next-generation optical networks
- Fiber-optics and wireless network integrations (FiWi)
- Free-space or wireless optical transmissions, systems and networks
- Call admission control and QoS- awareness in optical networks
- Wideband RF circuit theory and design
- Multi-band RF circuit theory and design
- RF photonics for wideband and multi-band wireless communication systems (e.g., true-time delay-line circuits for wideband phased arrays)

Submission rules

Papers submitted should be original and unpublished. The submitted papers should be formatted according to the IET Circuits, Devices & Systems guidelines (http://digital-library.theiet.org/journals/author-guide). All submitted papers will be peer reviewed according to the standards of the journal. Authors should submit a PDF version of their complete manuscript via - http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/iet .

Guest Editors:

Dr Piotr Zwierzykowski (e-mail: piotr.zwierzykowski@put.poznan.pl)
Chair of Communication and Computer Networks
Poznan University of Technology
Poznan, Poland
http://zwierzykowski.eu

Prof. Steven Gao (e-mail: s.gao@kent.ac.uk)
School of Engineering and Digital Arts,
University of Kent,
Canterbury CT2 7NZ, United Kingdom
http://www.eda.kent.ac.uk/

Dr. Wai Pang Ng (e-mail: wai-pang.ng@northumbria.ac.uk)
Faculty of Engineering and Environment
Department of Electrical Engineering
Room E406, Ellison Building, Northumbria University
Newcastle, United Kingdom
http://www.numyspace.co.uk/~unn_enwn1/

Prof. Zuqing Zhu (e-mail: zqzhu@ustc.edu.cn)
School of Information Science and Technology
University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
Hefei, Anhui, P. R. China
http://www.zuqingzhu.info