Free-space Optical Communication Systems Research Articles

Atmosphere turbulence effects on a multiple apertures free space optical communication systems

Abstract Wireless communication signals experienced fluctuations in intensity due to atmospheric turbulence. The presented work uses a multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) system to study the performance free-space optical (FSO) communication over a diverse atmospheric turbulence condition channel. The findings produced demonstrate how various channel models perform in FSO system at varying levels of channel turbulence. From 7.9 for the Weak turbulence to 45.3 for the strong turbulence, the turbulence attenuation rises linearly. The data could be transmitted via a link length of up to 1 km with strong turbulence. Strong turbulence could have higher Q-factor, yet is constrained by short distance (1 km) in comparison with weak turbulence, which has greater distance (3.8 km), therefore communication quality is lower. For moderate and weak turbulence, the maximum link is around 1.5 km and 3.8 km, respectively. This study is useful for designing a stable FSO system for regional environments suffer from frequent fluctuated weather turbulence such as the Middle East and South Asia.

Photovoltaic Modulating Retroreflectors for Low Power Consumption Free Space Optical Communication Systems

Photovoltaic Modulating Retroreflectors for Low Power Consumption Free Space Optical Communication Systems

High-Precision Tracking of Free-Space Optical Communication System on Mobile Platforms

High-Precision Tracking of Free-Space Optical Communication System on Mobile Platforms

Low-complexity turbulence resilience enabled by a multi-mode bi-directional transceiver

Free-space optical (FSO) communication systems are acutely affected by the pointing issues and distortions that result from mechanical instability and environmental factors such as turbulence. These distortions have generally prevented single-mode bi-directional systems from being deployed without adaptive optics due to high optical losses. We investigate and compare the performance of both step and graded index multi-mode fibers for bi-directional communications over an emulated 400 m FSO channel. We propose that OM5 graded index fiber will simultaneously provide a near Gaussian optical transmission mode and a factor of greater than 5 increase in the field of view compared to single-mode fiber. We demonstrate that OM5 can support an error-free throughput of 10 Gbps for low-turbulence (D/r0 = 3) and 9.1 Gbps for high-turbulence (D/r0 = 9) using commercial bi-directional small form-factor pluggable (SFP+) transceivers with no adaptive optical components.

Design and Investigation of a 10 Gb/s Hybrid Spatial-time Diversity FSO-CDMA Communication System

Abstract This paper presents a novel strategy for free space optical (FSO) communication system that combines hybrid spatial-time diversity and optical code division multiple access (OCDMA). The authors demonstrate a 10 Gb/s hybrid spatial-time diversity FSO-CDMA experimental system for the first time. They investigate the bit error rate (BER) and physical-layer security under weak and strong turbulence conditions. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme can improve the performance of the FSO-CDMA system. In the hybrid spatial-time diversity FSO-CDMA system, the BER of the eavesdropper (Eve) exceeds the hard-decision forward-error-correction threshold of 3.8E-3. It is also worth noting that Eve can intercept and recover data without a matched decoder in a spatial diversity FSO-CDMA system. As a result, the proposed scheme can simultaneously enhance reliability and physical-layer security compared to time or spatial diversity systems.

Self-adaptive integrated photonic receiver for turbulence compensation in free space optical links

In Free Space Optical (FSO) communication systems, atmospheric turbulence distorts the propagating beams, causing a random fading in the received power. This perturbation can be compensated using a multi-aperture receiver that samples the distorted wavefront on different points and adds the various signals coherently. In this work, we report on an adaptive optical receiver that compensates in real time for scintillation in FSO links. The optical front-end of the receiver is entirely integrated in a silicon photonic chip hosting a 2D Optical Antenna Array and a self-adaptive analog Programmable Optical Processor made of a mesh of tunable Mach–Zehnder interferometers. The photonic chip acts as an adaptive interface to couple turbulent FSO beams to single-mode guided optics, enabling energy and cost-effective operation, scalability to systems with a larger number of apertures, modulation-format and data-protocol transparency, and pluggability with commercial fiber optics transceivers. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed receiver with optical signals at a data rate of 10 Gbit/s transmitted in indoor FSO links where different turbulent conditions, even stronger than those expected in outdoor links of hundreds of meters, are reproduced.

Vortex inverted pin beams: mitigation of scintillations in strong atmospheric turbulence.

We recently introduced a new class of optical beams with a Bessel-like transverse profile and increasing beam width during propagation, akin to an "inverted pin." Owing to their specially engineered distribution, these beams have shown remarkable performance in atmospheric turbulence. Specifically, inverted pin beams (PBs) were found to have a reduced scintillation index as compared to collimated or focused Gaussian beams as well as other types of pin beams especially in moderate to strong turbulence. In this work, we demonstrate that inverted pin beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) can further suppress intensity scintillations in moderate to strong irradiance fluctuation conditions. Our results can be useful in improving the performance and link availability of free-space optical communication systems.

Impact of crosstalk and atmospheric turbulence on free space optical communication systems - a hardware emulation

Impact of crosstalk and atmospheric turbulence on free space optical communication systems - a hardware emulation

Transmission of data rate by radio over free space optical communications system under turbulence conditions

Abstract This study presents the analysis of a designed Ro-FSO system by Opti System v.20. The system analysis depends on transferring three values of data (10, 20, and 40 Gb/s) using two digital modulators (PSK and DPSK). Two scintillation systems (L-N and G-G) are applied for transmitting a signal through free space; this signal is subject to four values of atmospheric turbulence. The research showed that the (L-N) scintillation model can send data at rates of 10, 20, or 40 Gb/s, irrespective of what kind of digital modulator is used. For data rates of 10 and 20 Gb/s, the suggested system could transmit it over a maximum link distance of up to 2 km under different turbulence intensities. For 40 Gb/s of data rate, the maximum link distances decline to 1.75 km at the same amount of turbulence conditions. When the scintillation system (G-G) is applied as a turbulence link, the system is able to transmit the signal well for a maximum link distance not exceeding 0.75 km.

A Precise Review on Different Aspects of Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) Systems

A Precise Review on Different Aspects of Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) Systems

Advancing LWIR FSO communication through high-speed multilevel signals and directly modulated quantum cascade lasers

This study investigates the potential of long-wave infrared (LWIR) free-space optical (FSO) transmission using multilevel signals to achieve high spectral efficiency. The FSO transmission system includes a directly modulated-quantum cascade laser (DM-QCL) operating at 9.1 µm and a mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) detector. The laser operated at the temperature settings of 15°C and 20°C. The experiment was conducted over a distance of 1 m and in a lab as a controlled environment. We conduct small-signal characterization of the system, including the DM-QCL chip and MCT detector, evaluating the end-to-end response of both components and all associated electrical elements. For large-signal characterization, we employ a range of modulation formats, including non-return-to-zero on-off keying (NRZ-OOK), 4-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4), and 6-level PAM (PAM6), with the objective of optimizing both the bit rate and spectral efficiency of the FSO transmission by applying pre- and post-processing equalization. At 15°C, the studied LWIR FSO system achieves net bitrates of 15 Gbps with an NRZ-OOK signal and 16.9 Gbps with PAM4, both below the 6.25% overhead hard decision-forward error correction (6.25%-OH HD-FEC) limit, and 10 Gbps NRZ-OOK below the 2.7% overhead Reed-Solomon RS(528,514) pre-FEC (KR-FEC limit). At 20°C, we obtained net bitrates of 14.1 Gbps with NRZ-OOK, 16.9 Gbps with PAM4, and 16.4 Gbps with PAM6. Furthermore, we evaluate the BER performance as a function of the decision feedback equalization (DFE) tap number to explore the role of equalization in enhancing signal fidelity and reducing errors in FSO transmission. Our findings accentuate the competitive potential of DM-QCL and MCT detector-based FSO transceivers with digital equalization for the next generation of FSO communication systems.

A fiber-wireless integration approach in WDM-PON architecture, boosted with polarization multiplexing and optical frequency comb source

Abstract The paper discusses an optical frequency comb source (OMCG)-enabled hybrid single mode fiber (SMF) and free space optical (FSO) communication system (fiber-wireless) delivering a total capacity of 96 Gbps by incorporating polarization division multiplexing (PDM) in passive optical network (PON) architecture. For the accomplishment of PDM, three diverse states of polarization (SOPs) are explored such as 00, 450, and 900. Performance investigation of proposed system is conducted for assessing Q factor and BER by exploring the different modulation formats in proposed system such as modified duo-binary return to zero (MDRZ), return to zero (RZ), compressed spectrum RZ (CSRZ), and non-RZ (NRZ). Results revealed that presented design can cover 30 km SMF + 3.4 km FSO range by incorporating MDRZ due to its spectral efficient and dispersion tolerant properties.

Atmospheric turbulence recognition with deep learning models for sinusoidal hyperbolic hollow Gaussian beams-based free-space optical communication links

The integration of artificial intelligence technology to improve the performance of free-space optical communication (FSO) systems has received increasing interest. This study aims to propose a novel approach based on deep learning techniques for detecting turbulence-induced distortion levels in FSO communication links. The deep learning-based models improved and fine-tuned in this work are trained using a dataset containing the intensity profiles of Sinusoidal hyperbolic hollow Gaussian beams (ShHGBs). The intensity profiles included in the dataset are the ones of ShHGBs propagating for 6 km under the influence of six different atmospheric turbulence strengths. This study presents deep learning-based Resnet-50, EfficientNet, MobileNetV2, DenseNet121 and Improved+MobileNetV2 approaches for turbulence-induced disturbance detection and experimental evaluation results. In order to compare the experimental results, an evaluation is made by considering the accuracy, precision, recall, and f1-score criteria. As a result of the experimental evaluation, the average values for accuracy, precision, recall and F-score with the best performance of the improved method are given; average accuracy 0.8919, average precision 0.8933, average recall 0.8955 and average F-score 0.8944. The obtained results have immense potential to address the challenges associated with the turbulence effects on the performance of FSO systems.

Orientation-based solar noise impact on underwater and free-space optical wireless communication systems: experimental investigations

Solar noise, when it interferes with the received signal at the system receiver (Rx) of an optical wireless communication (OWC) system, degrades the system’s performance. The detrimental effect of solar noise on OWC systems has been well established in the literature. This work experimentally demonstrates solar noise interference in the OWC system by pointing the system Rx in various orientations in air and water mediums, e.g., 0° (Rx pointing horizontally leftward), 45°, 90° (Rx pointing vertically downward), 135°, 180° (Rx pointing horizontally rightward), 225°, 270° (Rx pointing vertically upward), and 315°. The experimental outcomes depict the signal’s noise content, spectral leakage, and roll-off rate variation at multiple Rx orientations. We also demonstrate the solar noise interference in transmitting an image through the outdoor underwater OWC link by pointing the system Rx in various orientations. Experimental demonstration confirms that the same OWC system never behaves identically in the presence of solar noise if the system Rx keeps changing its orientation during the maneuver.

Next-Generation Dual Transceiver FSO Communication System for High-Speed Trains in Neom Smart City

Smart cities like Neom require efficient and reliable transportation systems to support their vision of sustainable and interconnected urban environments. High-speed trains (HSTs) play a crucial role in connecting different areas of the city and facilitating seamless mobility. However, to ensure uninterrupted communication along the rail lines, advanced communication systems are essential to expand the coverage range of each base station (BS) while reducing the handover frequency. This paper presents the dual transceiver free space optical (FSO) communication system as a solution to achieve these objectives in the operational environment of HSTs in Neom city. Our channel model incorporates log-normal (LN) and gamma–gamma (GG) distributions to represent channel impairments and atmospheric turbulence in the city. Furthermore, we integrated the siding loop model, providing valuable insights into the system in real-world scenarios. To assess the system’s performance, we formulated the received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the network under assumed fading conditions. Additionally, we analyzed the system’s bit error rate (BER) analytically and through Monte Carlo simulation. A comparative analysis with reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) and relay-assisted FSO communications shows the superior coverage area and efficiency of the dual transceiver model. A significant reduction of up to 76% and 99% in the number of required BSs compared to RIS and relay, respectively, is observed. This reduction leads to fewer handovers and lower capital expenditure (CAPEX) costs.

Deep learning and random light structuring ensure robust free-space communications

Having shown early promise, free-space optical (FSO) communications face formidable challenges in the age of information explosion. The ever-growing demand for greater channel communication capacity is one of the challenges. The inter-channel crosstalk, which severely degrades the quality of transmitted information, creates another roadblock in the way of efficient implementation of FSO communication systems. Here, we advance theoretically and realize experimentally a potentially high-capacity FSO protocol that enables high-fidelity transfer of an image or set of images through a complex environment. In our protocol, we complement random light structuring at the transmitter with a deep learning image classification platform at the receiver. Multiplexing unique, independent, mutually orthogonal degrees of freedom available to structured random light can potentially significantly boost the channel communication capacity of our protocol without introducing any deleterious crosstalk. Specifically, we show how one can multiplex the degrees of freedom associated with the source coherence radius and a spatial position of a beamlet within an array of structured random beams to greatly enhance the capacity of our communication link. The superb resilience of structured random light to environmental noise, as well as extreme efficiency of deep learning networks at classifying images, guarantees high-fidelity image transfer within the framework of our protocol.

Transmitter diversity and OAM incorporated 40 Gbps free space optical system

Abstract The present research evaluates optical angular momentum’s (OAM) performance in challenging atmospheric conditions and emphasizes its significance in free space optical (FSO) communication systems. It has been demonstrated that implementing the transmitter diversity (TD) technique effectively suppresses inter-channel interference, improving system performance as a whole. The best option among the studied encodings is found to be the combination of non-return-to-zero (NRZ) and carrier suppressed RZ (CSRZ), which performs better in a variety of weather scenarios and covers a wide FSO range from 72 m to 1450 m. Proposed system offered distance enhancement of 81.25 % under clear sky, 16.66 % under light rain, 10.22 % under moderate rain, 3.4 % under heavy rain, 10 % under light haze, 4 % under moderate haze, 4.44 % under heavy haze, 12.5 % under light fog, 4 % under moderate fog, 7.8 % under heavy fog, 5.8 % under light dust, 7.6 % under medium dust and 12.5 % under heavy dust as compared to existing workIn particular, during bad weather, this research offers significant insights into the design and optimisation of high-speed FSO systems.

Performance analysis of the FSO communication system with random jamming over a composite Málaga turbulence fading channel

The performance analysis of a free space optical (FSO) communication system in the presence of random jamming is presented over a Málaga (M) distributed channel model with pointing errors and atmospheric attenuation. Firstly, the probability density function expressions of the transmission channel, signal-to-jamming ratio, and signal-to-noise ratio are derived. Then, considering the probability of the jammer and Gaussian white noise, the closed-form expressions for the ergodic channel capacity, outage probability, and average bit error rate are derived. Moreover, asymptotic expressions for the aforementioned performance metrics are also derived to ascertain the diversity gain of the system. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations are performed to demonstrate the credibility of this theoretical analysis. Results indicate that the adverse impact of random jamming is higher than that of Gaussian noise for the FSO communication system. Besides, this observation highlights the pulsating nature of the jamming effect, showcasing that within high signal-to-jamming ratio regions, a low probability jammer exerts the most significant impact on the FSO system.

Harnessing the power of ML for robust SISO and MIMO FSO communication systems in fog weather

This study examines Free Space Optical (FSO) communication’s performance in different fog conditions, focusing on Single-Input Single-Output (SISO) and Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) setups. In low fog, SISO handles signal degradation well. MIMO improves link robustness in moderate fog. High fog challenges traditional FSO, leading to ML integration to optimize communication parameters. For weather channel classification, a preprocessing scheme reduces features from 12 to 2 given that the 12 features are Bit Error Rate (BER), Quality Factor (Q-factor) and Received Optical Power (ROP) for different 4 users. A Gaussian Process Classifier (GPC) achieves an accuracy greater than 99%, surpassing SVM, Decision Tree, and Random Forest. GPC’s fit and predict functions execute in 0.15 s, outperforming NuSVM (0.2 s). This study highlights FSO, SISO, MIMO, and Machine Learning (ML) practicality in enhancing communication resilience in adverse weather, especially in fog-prone areas.

Exploring FSO link performance in varied atmospheric conditions to optimize 5G communication with a polarized quasi-diffuse transmitter

Abstract Free space optical (FSO) communication is an innovative technology that holds immense promise for numerous applications thanks to its high data transmission rates, rapid scalability, cost-effectiveness, superior security, and comprehensive capacity access techniques for Gbps data transmission. FSO communication relies on the Earth’s atmosphere as the medium, which introduces atmospheric disturbances that have driven the development of spatial diversity techniques aimed at enhancing the technology’s performance. Our proposed system employs a polarized quasi-diffused system with a fork as a spatial diversity scheme, which eliminates the need for multiple transmitters. We have developed a model that integrates both simulation designs to achieve optimal results. The proposed model has demonstrated excellent performance under various atmospheric turbulences, including rain, fog, and haze, exhibiting a very high maximum quality factor, improved received power, and better bit error rate (BER). Finally, we have obtained, analyzed, and extensively discussed the simulation results to provide a comprehensive understanding of the proposed model’s potential benefits. Our simulations show a maximum quality factor of 23 compared to existing models in much better, a 34 % increase in received power, and a 31 % decrease in BER compared to existing models. These results highlight the potential benefits of the proposed model for FSO communication systems.