An optimal energy harvesting scheme for simultaneous lightwave information and power transfer over multi-layer turbulence-induced underwater channel

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an optimal and energy-efficient time-splitting based simultaneous light-wave information and power transfer for underwater optical wireless communications. We consider a multi-layer turbulence-induced underwater optical channel with each layer experiencing independent and non-identically distributed oceanic turbulence. A concave optimization problem to maximize the energy harvesting for a target data rate is formulated for two cases, that is, the deterministic and the stochastic energy harvesting rate. Specifically, the analytical expression of optimal time-splitting ratio is derived. Furthermore, it is shown that the value of time-splitting ratio less than 0.5 is preferred for an efficient performance. Simulation results validate the analysis and demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly improves the data rate and the energy harvesting for underwater optical communications.