Terrestrial Free-space Optical Links Research Articles

Estimation of intelligent-based quality of service in terrestrial FSO links: A case of South Africa propagation paths

Free Space Optical (FSO) communication is one of the popular technologies’ dominants in the optical communication domain. Despite all the advantages, FSO links are grossly affected by severe atmospheric conditions such as fog, rain, snow, smoke, and dust or aerosol particles suspended in the air. Fog is one of the major challenges for free-space optics to achieve carrier-class availability and causes extreme attenuation. A 10-year (2010––2019) visibility data were obtained from the South African Weather Services (SAWS) with a special focus on Cape Town (–33.925° S, 18.424° E). This extracted and processed Cape Town data was used to estimate the needed fog-induced attenuation. The intelligent algorithm is rooted in the theory of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) systems which intelligently control the sub-tropical climate conditions of the chosen region. The adopted network-based technique is capable to interact with ever-changing weather by generating appropriate improvements to the free space optical communication link quality of service for efficient services to the customers. In this study, an Intelligent Algorithm (IA) based on an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been utilized to improve the reliability of QoS that can satisfy customer SLAs and improve received signal over FSO communications. The results obtained by implementing the IA system indicates that the power transmitted range from 8 to 100 dB and the adjusted Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) between 390–––420 dB at 650 nm optical wavelength, whereas the same trend could be observed when the optical wavelength of 1550 nm was applied. Subsequently, the model effectively estimated the automatic transmit power control for enhancement in SNR and resulting in better QoS at the receiving end, regardless of the related weather changes along with the transmission link.

Polar-Coded Transmission over 7.8-km Terrestrial Free-Space Optical Links

Free-space optical (FSO) communications can offer high-capacity transmission owing to the properties of the laser beams. However, performance degradation caused by atmospheric turbulence is an urgent issue. Recently, the application of polar codes, which can provide capacity-achieving error-correcting performance with low computational cost for decoding, to FSO communications has been studied. However, long-distance and real-field experiments have not been conducted in these studies. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to present the experimental results of polar-coded transmission over 7.8-km FSO links. Using experimental data, we investigated the performance of polar codes over atmospheric channels, including their superiority to regular low-density parity-check codes. We expect that our results will offer a path toward the application of polar codes in high-speed optical communication networks including satellites.

English

The spatial diversity techniques are broken down and explained systematically along with its combination which includes Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC), Equal Gain Combining (EGC) and Simple Selection Combining (SC) under the influence of atmospheric-induced turbulence fading in Free Space Optical (FSO) communication. Diversity is a technique used to prevent or reduce multipath. Multipath is a phenomenon describing propagation that results in the signals reaching the antenna by two or more paths. There is an extreme difficulty for a transmitted signal to be detected by a receiver in a case of increased turbulence. This research provides a forum for the receiver with some forms of diversity. The validation of the recommended simulation is through Additive White Gaussian Channel without combiner of the same process. The results display that Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC) has the greatest mitigation level of fading in comparison with others. Consequently, where fading is more dominant like on a terrestrial FSO link, Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC) can be used. Overall, the findings suggest the capability of the model in mitigating atmospheric turbulence especially for the 5G wireless networks in the terrestrial link. Key words: Free Space Optical Communication (FSO), Atmospheric Turbulence, Additive White Gaussian Channel (AWGC), Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC), Equal Gain Combining (EGC), Selection Combining (SC) and Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN).

Experimental Model Development for the Attenuation Coefficient Estimation of Terrestrial Optical Wireless Links over the Sea

Free space optical (FSO) systems have become a reliable solution for modern communications networks, due to the high performance, availability, reliability and security they can provide. However, their characteristics depend strongly on the conditions of the atmosphere, which is the propagation path of the optical beam. In this work, this dependence is experimentally investigated through a terrestrial horizontal FSO link, which was installed a few meters above the sea. Thus, the procedure presented hereis an accurate empirical model for the estimation of the attenuation coefficient for an optical wireless link, as a function of the atmospheric temperature, the relative humidity, and the wind speed. Its accuracy is verified by comparing the estimated outcomes—obtained from the empirical model—versus the measured—experimental—ones. Such accurate empirical models can be used for designing high performance and reliability FSO links, as parts of the upcoming 5G/5G+ networks, for areas where the behavior of the atmospheric conditions and parameters are known.

Characterization of terrestrial FSO link performance for 850 and 1310 nm transmission wavelengths

Abstract Over past few years, optical wireless communication has gained increased interest due to high achievable data rates, unlicensed bandwidth, inherited secure links and ease of deployment. In this paper, we analyse the performance of terrestrial free space optical (FSO) communication link considering internal parameters of the system. The performance of the system has been investigated and optimized by examining quality factor of the received signal considering different input powers, type of detectors, link ranges, beam divergence, data rates and modulation schemes employing 850 and 1310 nm transmission wavelength. Better quality of received signal has been achieved in case of different modulation schemes at a wavelength of 1310 as compared to 850 nm.

Assessment of fog and rain induced-attenuation on terrestrial FSO links

Launching into the next generation of wireless communication network (5G network) requires secure highdata rate, high speed and huge bandwidth links. With the tremendous increase in broadband users, the existingcommunication systems such as radio frequency (RF) and microwave links cannot meet up with the challenges due totheir link interference and low bandwidth. A current technology that promises such requirements and more is FreeSpace Optical (FSO) communication. The FSO basically involves the transmission of signal-modulated opticalradiation from a transmitter to a receiver through the atmosphere or outer space. It is designed to complement thetraditional fibre optical communication links. However, location-variant atmospheric channel degrades the qualityand performance of an FSO system under severe atmospheric conditions. This paper attempts to assess both fog- andrain-induced attenuation on the performance of FSO link in a terrestrial terrain using measured visibility and rainrate data at Akure, Nigeria. 5-year (2012-2016) archived visibility data and measured rain rate data of 1-minuteintegration time obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Department of Physics, FederalUniversity of Technology, Akure respectively, were used to compute the fog- and rain-induced specific attenuationsusing Kruse and Carboneur models. The performance of the FSO system was analyzed through link margin by usingthe parameters of a commercial optical transceiver, Terescope 5000. Findings from this work will be useful for FSOsystem design in the area.

Generalized channel estimation and data detection for MIMO multiplexing FSO parallel channels over limited space

In this paper, to increase the data rate of free-space optical (FSO) links, we consider multiple parallel FSO links arranged over a specified space (transceivers arranged over two rings with specified radius). Due to its ease of implementation, stability, and low cost, intensity modulation with direct detection (IM/DD) based on On–Off-Keying (OOK) is widely employed in practical terrestrial FSO links. For long-haul FSO links, avalanche photo diodes (APDs) are commonly used, which provide an internal gain in photo-detection, allowing larger transmission ranges, as compared with PIN photo-detector counterparts. Over the considered general case, firstly, we propose maximum likelihood (ML)-based detection methods when the receivers are aware of the instantaneous channel fading coefficients (CSI). Secondly, we propose an efficient OOK data detection method for a more practical case when the instantaneous CSI is not available at the receiver. For this state, initially, the channel coefficients are estimated by employing some pilot symbols and then, we use the channel estimated coefficients to detect OOK signals. For a specified space, due to crosstalk between parallel channels and pointing errors, performance of proposed data detection methods depends on the optimum value for beam waist. By providing Monte-Carlo simulation results, the optimum value of beam waist is obtained for various channel conditions. To evaluate the BER performance, we also provide analytical results and derive an analytical expression for the considered MIMO multiplexing scheme. The validity of our analytical results are confirmed by Monte-Carlo simulations.

Assessment of fog and rain induced-attenuation on terrestrial FSO links

Launching into the next generation of wireless communication network (5G network) requires secure high data rate, high speed and huge bandwidth links. With the tremendous increase in broadband users, the existing communication systems such as radio frequency (RF) and microwave links cannot meet up with the challenges due to their link interference and low bandwidth. A current technology that promises such requirements and more is Free Space Optical (FSO) communication. The FSO basically involves the transmission of signal-modulated optical radiation from a transmitter to a receiver through the atmosphere or outer space. It is designed to complement the traditional fibre optical communication links. However, location-variant atmospheric channel degrades the quality and performance of an FSO system under severe atmospheric conditions. This paper attempts to assess both fog- and rain-induced attenuation on the performance of FSO link in a terrestrial terrain using measured visibility and rain rate data at Akure, Nigeria. 5-year (2012-2016) archived visibility data and measured rain rate data of 1-minute integration time obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Akure respectively, were used to compute the fog- and rain-induced specific attenuations using Kruse and Carboneur models. The performance of the FSO system was analyzed through link margin by using the parameters of a commercial optical transceiver, Terescope 5000. Findings from this work will be useful for FSO system design in the area.

Assessment of FOG and Rain Induced-Attenuation on Terrestrial FSO Links

Notice of Retraction-----------------------------------------------------------------------After careful and considered review of the content of this paper by a duly constituted expert committee, this paper has been found to be in violation of APTIKOM's Publication Principles.We hereby retract the content of this paper. Reasonable effort should be made to remove all past references to this paper.The presenting author of this paper has the option to appeal this decision by contacting ij.aptikom@gmail.com.----------------------------------------------------------------------- Launching into the next generation of wireless communication network (5G network) requires secure high data rate, high speed and huge bandwidth links. With the tremendous increase in broadband users, the existing communication systems such as radio frequency (RF) and microwave links cannot meet up with the challenges due to their link interference and low bandwidth. A current technology that promises such requirements and more is Free Space Optical (FSO) communication. The FSO basically involves the transmission of signal-modulated optical radiation from a transmitter to a receiver through the atmosphere or outer space. It is designed to complement the traditional fibre optical communication links. However, location-variant atmospheric channel degrades the quality and performance of an FSO system under severe atmospheric conditions. This paper attempts to assess both fog- and rain-induced attenuation on the performance of FSO link in a terrestrial terrain using measured visibility and rain rate data at Akure, Nigeria. 5-year (2012-2016) archived visibility data and measured rain rate data of 1-minute integration time obtained from Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Akure respectively, were used to compute the fog- and rain-induced specific attenuations using Kruse and Carboneur models. The performance of the FSO system was analyzed through link margin by using the parameters of a commercial optical transceiver, Terescope 5000. Findings from this work will be useful for FSO system design in the area.

Classification Framework for Free Space Optical Communication Links and Systems

Free space optical (FSO) communication technology, also known as optical wireless communications, has regained a great interest over the last few years. In some cases, FSO is seen as an alternative to existing technologies, such as radio frequency. In other cases, FSO is considered as a strong candidate to complement and integrate with next-generation technologies, such as 5G wireless networks. Accordingly, FSO technology is being widely deployed in various indoor (e.g., data centers), terrestrial (e.g., mobile networks), space (e.g., inter-satellite and deep space communication), and underwater systems (e.g., underwater sensing). As the application portfolio of FSO technology grows, so does the need for a clear classification for FSO link configurations. Most existing surveys and classifications are single-level classifications, and thus not inclusive enough to accommodate recent and emerging changes and developments of different FSO link configurations and systems. In this paper, we propose a multi-level classification framework to classify existing and future indoor, terrestrial, space, underwater, and heterogenous FSO links and systems using common and simple unified notation. We use the proposed classification to review and summarize major experimental work and systems in the area until 2017. Using the proposed classification and survey, we aim to give researchers a jump-start to tap into the growing and expanding realm of the FSO technology in different environments. The proposed classification can also help organize and systematically present the progress in the research on FSO technology. This makes the identification of the market needs for standards an easier task. Moreover, different entities involved in the standardization process including academic, industry, and regulatory organizations can use the proposed classification as a unified language to communicate during the early stages of standard development which require ambiguity-free discussions and exchange of ideas between different standardization entities. We use the proposed classification to review existing standards and recommendations in the field of FSO. It is also envisioned that the proposed classification can be used as a unified framework to define different FSO channel models for simulation tools.

Performance of 120 Gbps single channel coherent DP-16-QAM in terrestrial FSO link under different weather conditions

The performance of a 120 Gbps single-carrier coherent transceiver system is evaluated in a terrestrial Free Space Optical Link (FSOL) under the haze, rain, and fog weather conditions. In-phase and Quadrature (IQ) based Dual Polarization 16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (DP-16-QAM) is implemented in OptiSystem v.13 simulation platform with homodyne detection and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) at the receiver. The IQ based optical modulator and the DSP unit can be fabricated in the form of Integrated Circuits (ICs) help to keep the system cost low. The system performance is evaluated in terms of Optical Signal to Noise Ratio (OSNR) requirements at an acceptable Bit Error Rate (BER ≤ 2 × 10−3, i.e., below the FEC limit) under low turbulence environment. Simulation results show that the system maintains good OSNR performance under severe weather conditions. This transceiver system shall be useful in short-reach, low-cost, high-capacity, robust communication link with dynamic environmental conditions.

Availability Prediction Methods for Terrestrial Free-Space-Optical Link Under Tropical Climate

<p>Free-space optical (FSO) links provide high speed point-to-point wireless communication, but its availability can easily be affected by weather conditions. In heavy rainfall regions, FSO links are relatively sensitive to rain. Availability prediction of FSO is indispensable part, especially in tropical areas. In this paper, methods to predict FSO link availability are presented. The overall performance of FSO link is described in terms of the availability that can be achieved over anticipated link distance. The availability prediction methods demonstrated for an FSO link ranges up to 5 km. The availability prediction methods are based on long-term statistics of atmospheric attenuations and FSO link budget under tropical climate condition. In tropical regions, for a terrestrial FSO link, carrier class availability can be achieved over a few hundred meters only; whereas enterprise class availability can be achieved over a few kilometers link distances. </p>

Availability analysis of terrestrial free space optical (FSO) link using visibility data measured in tropical region

Haze and rain are the most impairments factors to free space optical (FSO) links. These weather conditions limit the visibility, and thereby causes high attenuation of the optical signal. This high attenuation reduces the availability performance of the FSO link. This study evaluates the performance of a terrestrial FSO link under tropical climate conditions. The performance analysis is evaluate over 5 km link distance. The cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the received signal to noise ratio (SNR) is used to study the outage performance of the FSO link under haze conditions. The performance analysis is based on three years measured visibility data in Malaysia. Based on the statistical analysis, link availability of 99.99% can be achieved for 37.44 dB SNR over 1 km link distance. Carrier class availability “five nine” can be achieved for 20 dBm transmission power using 1550 nm wavelength.

On the Effect of Correlated Sways on Generalized Misalignment Fading for Terrestrial FSO Links

Terrestrial free-space optical (FSO) links are severely damaged by both atmospheric turbulence and misalignment errors. Generally, the optic community models misalignment by considering two different axes, i.e., the horizontal displacement and the elevation, as independent Gaussian random variables (RVs), whose probability density function is the well-known Beckmann distribution in the general case. In the current paper, we generalize this previous approach by misalignments with correlated sways since both the horizontal displacement and the elevation are not necessarily uncorrelated RVs in potential FSO applications. A statistical pointing error model is proposed, where not only is the laser beam width, detector size, and the effect of nonzero boresight and different jitter variances for each axes taken into account, but the effect of correlated sways is also taken into account. The proposed statistical model is used to evaluate the outage performance over gamma–gamma atmospheric turbulence channels. It is shown that the effect of correlation can only affect the coding gain when atmospheric turbulent is the dominant effect, while outage diversity is strongly dependent on correlation when pointing error is the dominant effect. Hence, correlation cannot be ignored in FSO systems. Simulation results are further included to confirm the analytical results.

Subcarrier PSK Performance in Terrestrial FSO Links Impaired by Gamma-Gamma Fading, Pointing Errors, and Phase Noise

For terrestrial free-space optical (FSO) communication systems, subcarrier intensity modulation represents an attractive alternative to on-off keying or pulse-position modulation, which is mainly because of the larger spectral efficiency. However, some degradation of the error performance must be taken into account due to nonperfect synchronization of carrier frequency and phase. In a recently published paper, the average bit error probability has been analyzed for $M$ -ary phase-shift keying in the presence of phase noise for a terrestrial FSO link impaired by lognormal fading. In the this paper, we are extending this study to a gamma-gamma model, which is usually applied in case of moderate-to-strong scintillation effects. On top of that, pointing errors, caused by a misalignment between transmitter and receiver of the FSO link, are considered as well. Since a closed-form solution is not available under general conditions and because numerical methods are time-consuming, suffering in part also from serious convergence and stability problems, we provide approximate closed-form expressions, which are accurate enough over a wide signal-to-noise ratio range.

Novel approximation of misalignment fading modeled by Beckmann distribution on free-space optical links.

A novel accurate and useful approximation of the well-known Beckmann distribution is presented here, which is used to model generalized pointing errors in the context of free-space optical (FSO) communication systems. We derive an approximate closed-form probability density function (PDF) for the composite gamma-gamma (GG) atmospheric turbulence with the pointing error model using the proposed approximation of the Beckmann distribution, which is valid for most practical terrestrial FSO links. This approximation takes into account the effect of the beam width, different jitters for the elevation and the horizontal displacement and the simultaneous effect of nonzero boresight errors for each axis at the receiver plane. Additionally, the proposed approximation allows us to delimit two different FSO scenarios. The first of them is when atmospheric turbulence is the dominant effect in relation to generalized pointing errors, and the second one when generalized pointing error is the dominant effect in relation to atmospheric turbulence. The second FSO scenario has not been studied in-depth by the research community. Moreover, the accuracy of the method is measured both visually and quantitatively using curve-fitting metrics. Simulation results are further included to confirm the analytical results.

Performance of quadrature amplitude modulation orthogonal frequency division multiplexing‐based free space optical links with non‐linear clipping effect over gamma–gamma modelled turbulence channels

The free space optical (FSO) communication systems have attracted significant research and commercial interest in the last few years because of their low installation and operational cost along with their very high performance characteristics. However, for terrestrial FSO links, the optical signal propagates through the atmosphere which exhibits time-varying behaviour that implies variations in the links' performance. In this study, the authors estimate the performance metrics for terrestrial FSO links which are using the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technique with a quadrature amplitude modulation scheme over turbulence channels. More specifically, the authors investigate the influence of the non-linear clipping effect of the OFDM scheme, along with the atmospheric turbulence modelled using the gamma-gamma distribution. Both effects significantly influence the performance of the link and here the authors derive closed form mathematical expressions for the estimation of the average signal to noise ratio, the outage probability and the average bit error rate that are vital for FSO system performance characterisation. Finally, using these expressions, the authors present the corresponding numerical results for common parameter values of the FSO links and investigate the accuracy of the expressions for marginal cases with nearly negligible turbulence effect.

Free Space Optics Attenuation Model for Visibilities Ranging from 9 to 12 Km

Abstract Atmospheric optical links are particularly affected by weather conditions. In this article, visibility and attenuation have been recorded over a distance for a terrestrial free space optical link operating with a 780 nm wavelength. This paper has shown the experimental optical link attenuation measurements results performed for visibilities ranging from 9-12 km. The existing models showing the relationship between atmospheric visibility and optical attenuation do not match well if compared with recorded data. Appropriate expressions which has consolidated Kruse attenuation model have been derived. The comparison of the corrected model to field data has shown the accuracy of the proposed modification.

Istical Characterization of Aerosols' Liquid Water Content and Visibility for Terrestrial FSO Links

Liquid water content (LWC) is a microphysical parameter which is used to characterize fog/cloud and other particulates. In the absence of precipitation higher amount of LWC depicts dense fog, significantly reducing visibility and causing performance degradation of free-space optical (FSO) links for a non-negligible amount of time. A measurement campaign in Prague (Czech Republic) has recorded the specific attenuation caused by fog in terrestrial FSO links along with visibility, liquid water content (LWC) and integrated particle surface area (PSA) for operational wave-lengths of 1550 nm and 830 nm (installed at two different path links). This contribution presents and analyzes 5 months real time measured data of LWC and visibility for terrestrial FSO links in an attempt to find the best fit distribution model for aerosol's liquid water content and visibility for terrestrial FSO links under reduced visibility conditions. The Probability Density Function (PDF) estimation ofvisibility and LWC puts forth the Gamma distribution as the best fit distribution for both. The results provide the statistical behaviour of LWC and visibility, which is of high importance for Optical Wireless systems and networks.

Further results on fog modeling for terrestrial free-space optical links

Recent measurement campaigns in Prague, Czech Republic have recorded the specific attenuation caused by fog in terrestrial free-space optical (FSO) links along with visibility, liquid water content (LWC), and integrated particle surface area for operational wavelengths of 1550 and 830 nm. Data recorded during 5 months of measurements has been analyzed in an attempt to validate and improve the empirical models for LWC and visibility-based attenuation and the probability density function (PDF) estimation of the received signal strength (RSS). The results strongly suggest that further attempts in refinement of the empirical modeling for visibility-based attenuation or LWC-based attenuation shall move towards the establishment of a global data bank of fog attenuation measurements in different climatic regions. This data bank can then help develop generic models which could lead to better system design of future terrestrial FSO links. The PDF estimation of RSS puts forth the Kumaraswamy distribution as the best fit for settled continental fog conditions.