Genetic Algorithm Based Adaptive FSO Communication Link

Abstract

Free Space Optical (FSO) communication systems are used to transmit high data rates over short distances through the atmosphere. However, the performance of FSO communication links can be severely impacted by atmospheric conditions, such as fog, rain, and atmospheric turbulence. These conditions cause temporary and spatial changes in light intensity, which can lead to signal degradation and disruption. To ensure reliable FSO communication, it is important to take into account the meteorological conditions of the location where the FSO communication link will be deployed. This will help in determining the expected level of link availability and identifying potential problems that could arise due to atmospheric conditions. For example, if a location is prone to fog or heavy rain, it may not be suitable for FSO communication link. One key factor in the design and operation of FSO communication links is the Geometrical Losses (GL), which refer to the loss of power due to the divergence of the laser beam as it propagates through the atmosphere. This can be minimized by increasing the diameter of the receiver aperture, which allows more of the laser beam to be collected and directed towards the detector.In this paper, the researchers used a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to minimize GLs in the FSO communication link. The GA is an optimization technique that mimics the process of natural selection to find the best solution to a problem. In this case, the GA was used to find the optimal diameter of the receiver aperture that would minimize GLs. The researchers used the optimum tool in MATLAB 2017 to implement the GA and found that after a certain number of iterations, the GLs remained constant. This was considered to be the optimal diameter of the receiver aperture.