Asymptotic bit error rate analysis of convergent underwater wireless optical communication-free-space optical system over combined channel model for different turbulence and weather conditions with pointing errors

Abstract

The differential phase-shift keying-based dual-hop underwater wireless optical communication-free-space optics (UWOC-FSO) convergent system is proposed for UOWSNs and Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) applications. In the proposed system, the collected sensor data are transmitted to a decode-and-forward relay using underwater optical wireless communication links modeled as gamma–gamma distribution. The relay transmits the signal to the terrestrial destination using free-space optical link modeled as Malaga distribution. The end-to-end performance of the system (novel expression for asymptotic bit error rate) is derived and analyzed over combined channel model (including the effects of attenuation, turbulence, and pointing errors for both FSO and UWOC channels). The in-depth study is carried out for different weather conditions of FSO (attenuation—very clear, haze, rain, and fog; turbulence—weak and strong; and pointing error—weak and strong based on the g values 1, 2, and 6) and UWOC (attenuation—clear, coastal ocean, and turbid harbor; turbulence—weak, moderate, and strong; and pointing error—weak and strong based on the g values 1, 2, and 6), respectively. The proposed system is highly useful in coastal environments, where the climate is changing adequately as clear, rain, haze, and fog.