Scintillation Index Research Articles

Scintillation index and outage probability of vortex Gaussian beams for horizontal links in weak atmospheric turbulence

Abstract By using Rytov method, for the Gaussian vortex beam, off-axis scintillation index of is examined in horizontal laser communication links operating in weakly turbulent atmosphere. Performances of laser communication systems, defined by the outage probability in this study, is evaluated by the use of lognormal distributed intensity in finding the scintillation index. Off-axis scintillation index of vortex Gaussian beams is analytically derived and evaluated in horizontal atmospheric link. The scintillation index obtained from the figures drawn versus the source size and propagation length is used to calculate the outage probability. It is found that turbulence affects vortex Gaussian beam less when compared with Gaussian beams that are non-vortex. Our important finding is that the scintillation index reduces when the topological charge increases.

Ionospheric TEC and its irregularities over Egypt: a comprehensive study of spatial and temporal variations using GOCE satellite data

Abstract This study delves into ionospheric characteristics during solar cycle 24 using data from the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, GOCE. The present study fills the gap of not assessing and studying GOCE satellite data before in Egypt. Focusing on spatial and temporal variations of ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) over Egypt and the Middle East across a 4-year dataset, monthly average Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) variations are scrutinized, emphasizing extremes during heightened and reduced solar and geomagnetic activities. Results TEC typically decreases with latitude’s increase, with peak ionization during equinoxes and troughs during solstices. Notably, VTEC values consistently reach maximum values on days of heightened solar and geomagnetic activities. GOCE data is evaluated against International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model and NeQuick2 model by selecting 10 days from all data by using a statistical comparison via t-tests. There is not significant difference between them except for two days between GOCE-IRI. The values of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) are 3.7403 and 4.4655 for GOCE – NeQuick2 model and GOCE – IRI model, respectively. Ionospheric scintillation, signifying rapid electron density fluctuations, is assessed through amplitude scintillation index (S4), S4 proxy, and Rate Of TEC Index (ROTI). A robust correlation between S4 and S4 proxy is noted, thus scintillation can be studied by using S4 proxy instead of S4. Temporal variations indicate heightened scintillation during geomagnetic storms and peak solar activity, contrasting with reduced activity during solar minimum. Throughout the study period the maximum scintillation index values for ROTI, S4, and S4 proxy are 0.3, 0.15, and 0.05, indicating minimal scintillation. This comprehensive analysis, rooted in GOCE data, illuminates spatial and temporal dynamics of ionospheric TEC and elucidates ionospheric scintillation characteristics in the Egypt region. These findings are crucial for refining ionospheric models, improving scintillation prediction, and enhancing satellite communication and navigation systems, especially in the study region.

A 6-mode pre-amplifier for turbulence-resistant free-space optical communication

A few-mode pre-amplifier with high gain and high coupling efficiency was suitable for the turbulence-resistant free-space optical (FSO) communication. Here, we first built and experimentally demonstrated a forward- and core-pumped 6-mode (6 M) pre-amplifier. By optimizing the 6 M erbium-doped fiber (EDF) length, we achieved over 28 dB of gain and a noise figure of less than 7 dB with an input intensity of −30 dBm. Moreover, we experimentally evaluated the 6 M pre-amplifier of 2.5 Gbps On-Off Keying (OOK) signal transmission with a homemade tunable turbulence emulator. The advantages of the 6 M pre-amplifier over the single-mode (SM) pre-amplifier varied with channel turbulence conditions in terms of communication performances. Compared with the SM pre-amplifier, the coupling efficiencies increased by 4.5 dB and 5.8 dB on average, and the median bit error rates (BERs) of the communication system improved by 2 and 5 orders of magnitude, respectively, in the presence of channels with the scintillation index σI2 of 0.3978 and 1.0553 (moderate to strong turbulence).

Near-field propagation of a flat-topped gaussian beam: analysis in weakly ‎turbulent atmospheres

We investigate the analysis of optical communication employing the shape beams, definitely concentrating on the effect of factors on the physical characteristics of a Flat Top Gaussian (FTG) beam. The propagation of a beam of laser light in the atmosphere layer is disposed to being affected by many optical phenomena such as scattering, absorption, and turbulence. These phenomena arise from differences in the scintillation index and the intensity modes realized in the source and receiver planes. This work is a numerical investigation of the FTG laser beam as it beams trekking through a zone of low turbulence using open-source software. This simulation will be conducted using a mathematical model derived from the split-step beam propagation technique. The intensity distributions of the source plane and the average intensity is received in air turbulence are computed, with an extra contour at the transducer plane. The Rytov approach to develops the scintillation index, structural constant, source size, and supplementary parameters to measure the weak turbulent model. Furthermore, these factors are studied in the context of near-field propagation. Also, the impression of the scintillation and wander of the beam is assessed. All simulated results are analyses and contrasted with the TEM00 Gaussian beam. At last, these discoveries are compared with the data obtained in the experimental piece of the study, additionally by applied in laser applications.

Machine Learning-Based Beam Pointing Error Reduction for Satellite–Ground FSO Links

Free space optical (FSO) communication, which has the potential to meet the demand for high-data-rate communications between satellites and ground stations, requires accurate alignment between the transmitter and receiver to establish a line-of-sight channel link. In this paper, we propose a machine learning (ML)-based approach to reduce beam pointing errors in FSO satellite-to-ground communications subjected to satellite vibration and weak atmospheric turbulence. ML models are utilized to find the optimal gain, which plays a crucial role in reducing pointing error displacement in a closed-loop FSO system. In designing the FSO environment, we employ several system model parameters, including control and system matrix components of the transmitter and receiver, noise parameters for the optical channel, irradiance, and the scintillation index of the signal. To predict the gain matrix of the closed-loop system, ML methods, such as tree-based algorithms, and a 1D convolutional neural network (Conv1D) are applied. Experimental results show that the Conv1D model outperforms other ML methods in gain value prediction, helping to maintain the beam position centered on the receiver aperture, minimizing beam pointing errors. When constructing a closed-loop system based on the Conv1D model, the error variance of the pointing error displacement was obtained as 0.012 and 0.015 in clear weather and light fog conditions, respectively. In addition, this research analyzes the impact of input features in a closed-loop FSO system, and compares the pointing error performance of the closed-loop setup to the conventional open-loop setup under weak turbulence.

Bit error rate of M-pulse position modulated laser beams for vertical links operating in weak oceanic turbulence

Abstract The on-axis scintillation index of laser beams is investigated by employing the Rytov method in weakly turbulent oceanic medium for up/downlink coupling of laser communication between any underwater vehicles or divers. For vertical link, the formulation of the on-axis scintillation index of laser beams is derived analytically and evaluated for plane, collimated Gaussian and spherical beams in specific medium, including the Atlantic Ocean at mid and low latitudes associating temperature and salinity changes at low latitude, at mid latitude-summer and at mid latitude-winter. Using the scintillation index, bit error rate (BER) performances of M-pulse position modulation (M-PPM) are investigated for these types of laser beam. The variations of the scintillation index against the uplink/downlink propagation distances, source size and zenith angle are examined, and BER variations versus the Kolmogorov microscale and the symbol orders, and results are compared. It is noted that the behavior of the scintillation index that depends on the relative strength of temperature and salinity fluctuations which changes in depth, is different for uplink/downlink, and for each latitude due to its distinct characteristics. Source size that minimizes the scintillation index values is in the range of about 0.1 cm-0.2 cm for all latitudes.

The analysis of the non-Kolmogorov turbulence effect on the performance of uplink coherent DPSK laser satellite communication system in the presence of tilt-corrected beam wander

In the present study, a model for analyzing the performance of laser-based satellite uplinks that account for beam wander and atmospheric turbulence is presented. The developed scintillation index model is a continuation of the recent works considering the effects of non-Kolmogorov turbulence on the propagation of Gaussian beams across turbulent media. We specifically concentrate on the specific regime under the tilt-corrected beam wander. The on-axis scintillation index is developed assuming an isotropic non-Kolmogorov spectrum model where the power law exponent (PLE) effective value, α\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\alpha$$\\end{document}, is taken to be 3 < α\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\alpha$$\\end{document} < 4. Within that regime, effective irradiance models for tilt-corrected beam wander are presented, using the Gamma and Gamma-Gamma distributions. Closed-form expressions of the average bit error rate (BER) are derived to evaluate the performance of the optical communication system considering coherent detection of differential phase shift keying. The obtained numerical results show the impact of the Gaussian beam radius at the transmitter, the PLE effective value, and the zenith angle on the on-axis scintillation index and the average BER of the system under consideration. Due to beam wander, the link performance in terms of scintillation index and average BER depends on the beam radius at the transmitter. With tilt-corrected beam wander the link performance becomes best at an intermediate value of beam radius. With the non-Kolmogorov turbulent medium model, the PLE effective value has a major effect on the beam radius with the best performance. The obtained results guide the choice of the optimum beam radius for best performance for each PLE effective value.

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.

Comparison of the Occurrence Morphology of Phase Scintillation of GPS and Beidou Signals at Zhongshan Station, Antarctica

AbstractThe characteristics of phase scintillation (represented by the phase scintillation indices, σφ) from GPS and Beidou are statistically analyzed using a ground‐based receiver at Zhongshan Station, Antarctica, from 2020 to 2022 for the first time. The phase scintillation of the GPS and Beidou signals present a similar pattern of occurrence. The statistical results on the occurrence morphology of phase scintillation show that the phase scintillation predominately occurs in the magnetic pre‐noon and pre‐midnight sectors. Moreover, phase scintillation performs a dependence on solar and geomagnetic activities. Furthermore, the phase scintillation also gives a seasonal variation with the maximum occurrence happened at the autumn and the minimum occurrence during the summer. Consequently, these results improve understanding of the morphological characteristics of the phase fluctuations in the less studied Antarctic region. The study also demonstrates the use of the combined data set to improve the coverage in the Antarctic region.

Deep learning-based general beam synthesis for atmospheric propagation

Optimizing the transmit light beams unlocks the full potential of free-space optical systems. However, designing application-specific light beams remains a challenge, especially for those traversing random media. In this study, we address this gap by proposing a deep learning-based method to generate optimal beams for propagation through atmospheric turbulence. The key mechanism is approximating the receiver statistics through batch-wise computation during the training of a convolutional neural network (CNN). On that basis, statistical performance metrics including average received power, scintillation index, and mean signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are considered for optimization. Pseudo-modes of the beam are synthesized by weighted superposition of Hermite-Gaussian eigenmodes, enabling the creation of arbitrary complex amplitude profiles, i.e., general beams. An end-to-end implementation framework is designed to facilitate self-supervised learning and eliminate the need for pre-calculated datasets. Effectiveness of the synthesized beam is validated by wave optics simulation and experiments. In particular, comparison with Gaussian Schell-model beams demonstrates that the synthesized beam can achieve lower scintillation and greater intensity at the same time, leading to markedly enhanced receiver SNR. This advantage persists in a wider range of link configurations, extending the application range of stochastic beams.

Occurrence characteristics of ionospheric scintillations in the civilian GPS signals (L1, L2, and L5) through a dedicated scintillation monitoring receiver at a low-latitude location in India during the 25th solar cycle

Abstract The ionospheric post-sunset irregularities are responsible for the discrepancies in the received global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals to fluctuate the phase and amplitude resulting in scintillations in the respective components. Ionospheric scintillations reduce the signal quality and alter the signal reception time inducing position errors which is not preferable for the precise position applications. The level of ionospheric amplitude scintillation, quantified by the amplitude scintillation index (S4), is analyzed during the year 2022, which accentuates the ascending phase of solar cycle 25. For this, we analyzed scintillation intensity and occurrence percentage at a low latitude Indian location in India by employing all the available frequencies of the global positioning system (GPS) constellation. The scintillation distribution for each month is also observed which reveals that the autumn equinox seasons has high scintillation occurrence compared to the vernal equinox seasons. The impact of the scintillation on the three civilian signals (L1, L2 and L5) of the GPS constellation is also observed in terms of the scintillation intensity distribution. The cross-correlation of the S4 index for these three signals reveals a strong correlation existing among them during strong scintillations whereas L2 and L5 signals portray a high correlation irrespective of signal intensities. In brief, the strong scintillation occurrence percentage is higher in the L5 signal compared to the L1 and L2 in contrast with weak scintillation, which is high in L1, followed by L2 and L5. Further, the analysis shows that the autumnal equinox has the highest percentage occurrence of strong scintillations (less than 10 % of the scintillation cases) compared to the vernal equinox whereas among solstice seasons June solstice presented the least scintillation occurrence at the location. The outcomes of this study instigate further analysis of scintillation occurrences from diverse GNSS frequencies covering diverse solar activity conditions for complementing the development of robust scintillation mitigation strategies across the low latitudes during the diverse scintillation conditions.

Scintillation Level of Scattered Radio Waves in the Equatorial Ionosphere

Scintillation effects of propagating and scattered radio waves (RWs) are considered analytically and numerically in the equatorial terrestrial ionosphere applying the statistical characteristics. Analytical calculations of the second-order statistical moments of the phase fluctuations of the ordinary and extraordinary RWs in the conductive collision ionospheric magnetoplasma (COCOIMA) are carried out for the first time using the Wentzel-Kramers-Brilluen method and the modified smooth perturbation method in consideration of the diffraction effects. Polarization coefficients of these waves in the equatorial ionosphere have been derived for the first time. The scintillation level includes the variance and the correlation functions of scattered RWs. Statistical moments contain complex refractive index, anisotropy coefficient characterizing irregular plasmonic structures, tilt angle of prolate irregularities concerning to the external magnetic field, permittivity components of the equatorial ionosphere, Hall's, Pedersen and longitudinal conductivities. A new feature of the "Fountain Effect" has been discovered in the equatorial ionosphere at weak and moderate scintillations caused due to anisotropy parameters of electron density fluctuations. Anisotropy parameters of electron density inhomogeneities influence the scintillation index of both the ordinary and extraordinary radio waves shifting maximums of the curves in the opposite directions at weak and moderate scintillations. Numerical calculations are carried out using the hybrid anisotropic correlation function of electron density fluctuations containing both exponential and power-law spectral functions having arbitrary spectral index, applying the experimental data.

A Study on the Irradiance Scintillation Characteristics of Monochromatic LED-Based Visible Light Communication Systems in Weak-to-Strong Turbulence

Atmospheric turbulence causes transmitted light to fade randomly, which results in irradiance scintillation fluctuations in the received signal and significantly affects the quality of wireless optical communication systems. In this paper, we investigate the propagation characteristics of a monochromatic light-emitting diode (LED) light beam through weak-to-strong turbulence. Considering the spatial incoherence of a monochromatic LED light source, the emitted light field of a monochromatic LED light source is represented by a random field multiplied by a deterministic field that follows a Gaussian distribution. Then, based on the extended-Rytov theory, a closed expression for the irradiance scintillation index under weak-to-strong turbulence is derived. In addition, the expression for the fading probability governed by the Gamma–Gamma model is given. Finally, the effects of near-earth atmospheric refractive index structural parameters, signal propagation distances, and working light wavelengths on propagation characteristics of the LED-based VLC system are simulated and compared with those of the laser-based one. The results theoretically confirm that laser light sources are more susceptible to atmospheric turbulence along the propagation path than monochromatic LED light sources. The investigation in this paper can provide theoretical support for the design of visible light communication systems in practical applications.

Amplitude scintillation detection with geodetic GNSS receivers leveraging machine learning decision tree

The amplitude scintillation detection is typically achieved by using the scintillation index generated by dedicated and costly ionospheric scintillation monitoring receivers (ISMRs). Considering the large volume of common Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers, this paper presents a strategy to accurately identify the ionospheric amplitude scintillation events utilizing the measurements collected with geodetic GNSS receivers. The proposed detection method relies on a pre-trained machine learning decision tree algorithm, leveraging the scintillation index computed from the carrier-to-noise data and elevation angles collected at 1-Hz. The experimental results using real data demonstrate a 99% accuracy in scintillation detection can be achieved. By combining advanced machine learning techniques with geodetic GNSS receivers, this approach is feasible to effectively detect ionospheric scintillation using non-scintillation GNSS receivers.

Scintillation analysis of gaussian beams in anisotropic and uniaxial media

Scintillation of Gaussian beams both in anisotropic and uniaxial media is examined numerically utilizing the split step approach. Both the point-like and the power scintillation indices of Gaussian beams that propagate for a 5 Km in anisotropic and uniaxial media are investigated. The effect of turbulence strength on the scintillation level is also studied. In this regard, the scintillation level of the three components of Gaussian beam both the anisotropic and the uniaxial are analysed and compared with the scintillation of the fundamental Gaussian beam. The provided results show that the x-component of the Gaussian beam as propagate in both the anisotropic and the uniaxial media has the lowest scintillation. In addition, in uniaxial medium, the three components of the Gaussian beam have a power scintillation level less than the fundamental Gaussian.

Randomness of optical turbulence generated by Rayleigh–Bénard convection using intensity statistics

The experimental study of optical turbulence proves difficult due to challenges in generating controllable conditions in a laboratory environment. Confined water tanks that produce Rayleigh–Bénard (RB) convection are one method to generate optical turbulence using a controllable temperature gradient. It is of utmost concern to quantify the properties of the optical turbulence generated for characterization of other optical applications such as imaging, sensing, or communications. In this experimental study a Gaussian beam is propagated through a RB water tank where two intensity measurements are made at the receiver’s pupil and focal plane. The pupil and focal plane results include quantification of the intensity fluctuation distribution, scintillation distribution, and refractive index structure constant at various values of the temperature gradient. The angle of arrival fluctuations is also calculated at the focal plane to obtain a second estimate of C n 2. The pupil plane estimate for C n 2 using scintillation index and focal plane angle of arrival fluctuations is compared to preliminary predictions of C n 2 as a function of RB temperature gradient showing C n 2∼ΔT4/3. The outcomes of the study confirm that the RB process produces intensity fluctuations that follow gamma–gamma and log-normal probability density functions. Estimates of the refractive index structure constant C n 2 produce the same trends with different magnitudes when measured from the pupil and focal plane.

Estimation and Evaluation of Ionospheric Scintillations at Various NavIC Signal Frequencies using Real Time Data

The ionospheric scintillations affect radio waves from the NavIC satellites through the ionosphere. The ionospheric scintillations lower receiver tracking accuracy, integrity, and continuity. This paper presents the computation of ionosphere parameters such as TEC, ROTI and scintillation index (S) using pseudo range and Carrier to Noise density ratio (C/No) measurements of NavIC L5 and S-band signals. Also, investigates the ionospheric scintillations, which are common in the equatorial and low latitude region. The correlation between the amplitude scintillation index S4 and ROTI is investigated using real data of NavIC receiver at Osmania University, Hyderabad. The results obtained confirm that the scintillations impact varies with radio signal frequency and it is severe on low frequencies during post sunset hours at low latitude regions.

Analysis of finite energy fresnel bessel beams scintillation level in turbulent communication links

Scintillation indices of Finite Energy Fresnel-Bessel Beams (FEFBBs) propagating for 6 Km in a turbulent atmosphere are analyzed. In this context, the effects of beam order and Gaussian beam waist on the reduction of scintillation level are evaluated. Both the point-like scintillation and the power scintillation indices are examined. The obtained results show that beam order does not have a significant impact on the scintillation levels. FEFBBs are able to reduce the power scintillation levels, then improve the system performance better than fundamental Gaussian beams. Thus, the provided results are significant for not only the performance improvement of the free-space optical (FSO) communication systems but also for the applications that require line of sight alignment namely directed infrared countermeasure (DIRCM).

Turbulence impacted wavefront corrections using beam modulation technique

New experimental technique have been proposed to discuss the turbulence impact reduction using beam shaping technique. In first phase of experiments, turbulence Impacted Vortex beam shaping technique has been introduced for a propagating beam which is effected by Kolmogorov type lab based turbulence simulator using Pseudo Random Phase Plate (PRPP). The new technique is executed with a spatially filtered collimated Gaussian beam that is propagated through computer controlled rotating PRPP to introduce the lab based turbulence on the beam profile. The turbulence impacted beam is then propagated through Vortex Phase Plate (VPP) to shape that beam into different topological charged Laguerre Gaussian modes and further collimated using two lens based configuration. We have measured the scintillation index of the spatial intensity profile collected from CCD. Comparative studies have been done by placing the image plane in five different positions on the propagation path of the beam so that we can detect Collimated, diverging and converging outputs. Four topological charges of LG beams and Gaussian beam have been used to envisage results.

Performance evaluation and comparative research of underwater wireless optical communication system by using different structured beams

Structured beams have attracted increasing interest in free-space and fiber-based optical communications. Underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) is becoming a prospective technique in marine exploration. We investigated UWOC performance using different representative structured beams. The transmission performances of the Gaussian, Bessel–Gaussian (BG), Ince–Gaussian (IG), and radially polarized Gaussian (RPG) beams were experimentally demonstrated and evaluated in underwater channels subjected to thermal gradient. The experimental results show that the BG, IG, and RPG perform better against the thermal gradient. Compared with the Gaussian beams, the beam wanders of BG, IG, and RPG beams under the thermal gradient have been reduced by 56.9%, 8.2%, and 59%, the scintillation indices have been decreased by 12.8%, 17.3%, and 28.9%, and the BER performance of the BG, IG, and RPG beams have been improved by ∼5.5, ∼3.7, and ∼5.2dB at the forward error correction threshold (FEC threshold). Based on the above results, the RPG beam is a more promising light source for UWOC. The experimental results provide a promising beam choice for UWOC.