Turbulence-induced Fading Research Articles

Secrecy performance analysis of a IRS-assisted underwater optical wireless communication system

In response to the dearth of radio frequency (RF) equivalents, there has been a recent surge in interest in optical wireless communication in underwater environments. To ensure a strong line-of-sight (LOS) connection, the intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is installed to create a virtual LOS. Then, the first part of this study looks into the security of underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) in relation to a number of real-world phenomena, including oceanic propagation loss, oceanic turbulence, and IRS-induced geometric loss. Then, a wiretap channel with three authorized users - a reputable broadcaster named Alice (the submarine), a law-abiding user named Bob, and an eavesdropper named Eve - is examined over turbulent channels that exhibit the Log-normal distribution. Furthermore, our study derives the closed-form formulas for the secrecy performance measures, secrecy outage probability, and secrecy throughput. Finally, the numerical results show how the impact of oceanic turbulence-induced fading and distance between Bob’s and Eve’s positions on the secrecy system performance.

Joint estimation model for FSO channel parameters and performance evaluation based on CNNs.

Free space optical (FSO) communication systems experience turbulence-induced fading. As a possible solution, adaptive transmission, which adjusts transmitter parameters based on instantaneous channel state information (CSI), can be used. Most of the existing channel estimation methods ignore the impact of detection noise at the receiver, which will lead to additional estimation errors. In this paper, a joint estimation model based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) is proposed to estimate detection noise and turbulence fading parameters. We obtained turbulence channel simulation data sets considering the background of detection noise based on the edge probability distribution function of the receive signal. The training of the CNN estimator is carried out through maximum pooling, adaptive learning rate, and regularization, ultimately accurately estimating channel characteristics based on the optimal output results of the network. The simulation results show that the proposed CNN joint estimator performs better in high-detection-noise environments compared with traditional maximum likelihood estimators, and it has better generalization ability in different real atmospheric environments.

Transmitter design and AE–AR region characterization for NOMA-SLIPT UWOC systems with uniformly distributed message and Imp-SIC

This paper investigates simultaneous lightwave and information transfer (SLIPT) based non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) in underwater optical wireless communication (UWOC) systems. At the user signal separation (SS) based SLIPT scheme is employed. Imperfect successive interference cancellation (SIC) at the near user is considered. Firstly, we derive the maximum allowable electrical power for message symbols at the transmitter, ensuring input to the laser diode lies within the linear region and. A novel linearity-constrained transmitter design is proposed for the uniformly distributed message, followed by calculations of instantaneous data rate and instantaneous harvested energy for both users. Then, closed-form expressions for average data rates (AR) and average energy harvested (AE) under weak turbulence-induced fading channels using Holtzman’s approximation are derived. The tightness of the approximation is confirmed by Monte-Carlo simulations. AE–AR boundaries for both users show an initial rise and subsequent decline in data rates with increased harvested energy, owing to higher bias values restricting transmitter power. The study also examines trade-offs between AE and AR across various system parameters including beam divergence angles, imperfection of SIC, power allocation coefficients, and water types, is conducted. We observe shifting and shrinking/expansion of the AE–AR region depending upon the variation of the various system parameters. We also show that the discussed SS scheme is general and encompasses time-switching (TS), and power-splitting (PS) schemes as special cases. We also briefly discuss as to how the developed framework could be extended to more than two users. In summary, the overall effective energy consumption deduces owing to the adoption of SLIPT at the users, making the considered setup more energy-efficient.

Outage probability analysis of a cooperative NOMA UWOC system with multiuser scheduling under weak oceanic turbulence.

A downlink cooperative non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) multiuser underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) system with a greedy scheduling scheme has been proposed for the Internet of Underwater Things. In particular, the near user plays as a relay to assist the far user, and both decode-and-forward and amplify-and-forward relaying protocols are considered. Relying on the Gauss-Laguerre quadrature formula, the analytical expressions for the outage probability of users are derived considering the degrading effects of the underwater channel, namely, absorption, scattering, and turbulence-induced fading. The outage performance is further analyzed systematically under different water types, targeted data rates, the number of users, the receiver aperture size, and the power allocation coefficient. Numerical results demonstrate that the performance of the far user can be improved by the proposed cooperative NOMA technology. Moreover, the proposed cooperative NOMA system performs better compared with both conventional OMA and non-cooperative NOMA systems. Monte Carlo simulation results are presented to confirm the accuracy of derived expressions, which have a tight agreement with analytical results.

On the capacity of a SIM-based cooperative NLOS UVC system with best relay selection

Ultraviolet communication (UVC) is a promising technology due to its ability to operate in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) mode thereby eliminating the pointing acquisition and tracking (PAT) requirement as needed by infrared and visible light communications. However, NLOS UVC suffers from very high attenuation and turbulence-induced fading when operated over a long distance. Due to these limitations, the existing literature on the NLOS UVC is mostly restricted to short-distance communications only. Therefore, this paper addresses these challenges by proposing an outdoor subcarrier-intensity-modulation (SIM) based multi-relay cooperative communication system employing the best relay selection and decode-and-forward (DF) relaying protocol. The turbulence-induced fading is modelled using lognormal distribution under weak atmospheric turbulence conditions. We derive novel closed-form analytical expressions of outage probability and ergodic capacity. Correctness of the derived analytical expressions is validated through numerical simulations.

Free Space Optical Communication: An Enabling Backhaul Technology for 6G Non-Terrestrial Networks

The deployment of non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) is envisioned to achieve global coverage for 6G and beyond. In addition to space nodes, aerial NTN nodes such as high-altitude platform stations (HAPSs) and rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) could be deployed, based on the intended coverage and operational altitude requirements. NTN nodes have the potential to support both wireless access and backhauling. While the onboard base station provides wireless access for the end users, the backhauling link connects the airborne/space-borne base station to the core network. With its high data transmission capability comparable to fiber optics and its ability to operate in the interference-free optical spectrum, free space optical (FSO) communication is ideally suited to backhauling requirements in NTNs. In this paper, we present a comprehensive tutorial on airborne FSO backhauling. We first delve into the fundamentals of FSO signal transmission and discuss aspects such as geometrical loss, atmospheric attenuation, turbulence-induced fading, and pointing errors, all of which are critical for determining received signal levels and related link budget calculations. Then, we discuss the requirements of airborne backhaul system architectures, based on use cases. While single-layer backhaul systems are sufficient for providing coverage in rural areas, multi-layer designs are typically required to establish connectivity in urban areas, where line of sight (LoS) links are harder to maintain. We review physical layer design principles for FSO-based airborne links, discussing both intensity modulation/direct detection (IM/DD) and coherent modulation/coherent demodulation (CM/CD). Another critical design criteria for airborne backhauling is self-sustainability, which is further discussed in our paper. We conclude the paper by discussing current challenges and future research directions. In this context, we discuss reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) and spatial division multiplexing (SDM), for improved performance and an extended transmission range. We emphasize the importance of advanced handover techniques and scalability issues for practical implementation. We also highlight the growing role of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) and their potential applications in the design and optimization of future FSO-based NTNs.

Performance analysis of underwater vertical wireless optical communication links using selection combining.

In this paper, we have investigated the performance of underwater vertical wireless optical communication (UVWOC) links employing on-off key modulation for selection combining based receive diversity schemes in the presence of underwater turbulence, pointing errors, and attenuation losses. Due to variations in temperature and salinity along the ocean's depth, turbulence-induced fading affects the performance of the underwater vertical wireless optical link. The vertical link of the underwater medium influenced by a strong turbulence regime is modeled using cascaded gamma-gamma distribution considering multiple non-identical layers along with attenuation losses and pointing errors. We have derived closed-form expressions for the average bit error rate (BER) and outage probability (OP) for the link employing multiple detectors at the receiving end. The accuracy of all of the closed-form expressions derived in this paper has been validated using Monte Carlo simulations.

PLS performance analysis of the vertical UWOC system with perfect and imperfect CSI.

Although underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) receives much interest lately, security issues associated with it get little attention. In this work, it is the first attempt to investigate the physical layer security (PLS) performance of the vertical UWOC system with perfect and imperfect channel state information (CSI). Specifically speaking, the communication between two legitimate peers in the presence of an external eavesdropper is studied from the information-theoretic security perspective. Assuming that turbulence-induced fading over the vertical UWOC links is respectively subject to cascaded lognormal (LN) and Gamma-Gamma (GG) distributions for weak and moderate/strong turbulence conditions, and the angular pointing error is randomized by the Beckmann distribution, the composite cascaded statistical fading models are derived with the comprehensive effects of path loss, underwater turbulence, angular pointing errors, and channel estimation error. On the basis of these models, analysis frameworks of the probability of strictly positive secrecy capacity (SPSC), secrecy outage probability (SOP), and average secrecy capacity (ASC) are further obtained for this UWOC system, which are confirmed by Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. Furthermore, the effects including the number of layers, the level of channel estimation error, the link distance, the location of the eavesdropper, the quality of the main and eavesdropping channels on this system are analyzed for different water conditions. The presented results give valuable insights into the practical aspects of deployment of UWOC networks.

Hybrid FSO/RF system over proposed random dust attenuation model based on real-time data combined with G–G atmospheric turbulence

Free-space optical (FSO) communication links are thought to be most negatively impacted by fog and sandstorms. Several probabilistic models for signal attenuation in various types of fog have been proposed in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, there is no prior probabilistic signal attenuation model for dusty channels. As a result, in this study, we analyse the probabilistic behaviour of the FSO channel during sandstorms using real-time data from the Egyptian Meteorological Authority and propose the negative-exponential (NE) distribution as a novel statistical model for signal attenuation in dust. A probability distribution function (PDF) is then derived for the random dust channel state. Also, a closed-form channel state distributional formulation is derived for a stochastic FSO channel model that considers both dust effects and Gamma–Gamma (G–G) atmospheric turbulence-induced fading. Next, closed formulas are derived for both the average bit-error rate (BER) and outage probability for the FSO system operating in this channel environment. Using the forms derived, it can be shown that the dust storm has a significant impact on the system’s performance. Finally, to overcome this degradation, we suggest utilizing a hybrid FSO and radio frequency (RF) wireless communication system. The received signals are combined using the well-known diversity selection combining (SC) technique. Further, the hybrid system’s performance was compared to that of an FSO-only system.

Beam wander prediction with recurrent neural networks.

Among the problems that prevent free-space optical communication systems from becoming a truly mainstream technology is beam wander, which is especially important for structured light beams since beam misalignment introduces additional crosstalk at the receiver. The paper suggests a recurrent neural network-based (RNN) solution to predict beam wander in free space optics (FSO). The approach uses past beam center of mass positions to predict future movement, significantly outperforming various prediction types. The proposed approach is demonstrated using under-sampled experimental data over a 260 m link as a worst-case and over-sampled simulated data as a best-case scenario. In addition to conventional Gaussian beams, Hermite- and Laguerre-Gaussian beam wander is also investigated. With a 20 to 40% improvement in error over naive and linear predictions, while predicting multiple samples ahead in typical situations and overall matching or outperforming considered predictions across all studied scenarios, this method could help mitigate turbulence-induced fading and has potential applications in intelligent re-transmits, quality of service, optimized error correction, maximum likelihood-type algorithms, and predictive adaptive optics.

Adaptive Transmission Based on MIMO Mode Switching Over Malaga Turbulence Channel With Pointing Error

In this paper, we propose a dynamic adaptive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) free space optical (FSO) system with spatial mode switching. Based on the channel conditions, the proposed system can select different MIMO transmission modes: diversity, multiplexing or hybrid mode that yields the maximum average channel capacity while satisfying the reliable average bit error rate (BER). Considering the combined effects of path loss, pointing error and atmospheric turbulence-induced fading modeled by Malaga distribution, we derive the closed-form expressions of average channel capacity and average BER of MIMO system for each transmission mode. From adaptive system performance evaluated results, we establish the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) threshold look-up table (LUT) in different scenarios to select the optimal transmission mode. The extensive numerical results demonstrate that the proposed adaptive system has a significant improvement in average channel capacity compared with each stand-alone mode system. Finally, Monte Carlo simulation is also provided to verify the correctness of the proposed adaptive scheme and conclusions.

Optical Satellite Eavesdropping

In recent years, satellite communication (SatCom) systems have been widely used for navigation, broadcasting application, disaster recovery, weather sensing, and even spying on the Earth. As the number of satellites is highly increasing and with the radical revolution in wireless technology, eavesdropping on SatCom will be possible in next-generation networks. In this context, we introduce the satellite eavesdropping approach, where an eavesdropping spacecraft can intercept optical communications established between a low Earth orbit satellite and a high altitude platform station (HAPS). Specifically, we propose two practical eavesdropping scenarios for satellite-to-HAPS (downlink) and HAPS-to-satellite (uplink) optical communications, where the attacker spacecraft can eavesdrop on the transmitted signal or the received signal. To quantify the secrecy performance of the scenarios, the average secrecy capacity and secrecy outage probability expressions are derived and validated with Monte Carlo simulations. Moreover, the secrecy throughput of the proposed models is investigated. We observe that turbulence-induced fading significantly impacts the secrecy performance of free-space optical communication.

On the maximal-ratio combining of FSO and RF links over generalized distributions and its applications in hybrid FSO/RF systems

Recently, generalized fading distributions have gained substantial research interest due to their applicability and adaptability in practical scenarios. In this paper, we derive the exact closed-form expressions for the probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the maximal-ratio combining (MRC) of the free space optics (FSO) and radio frequency (RF) links over the most generalized Malaga and α-η-κ-μ fading models. Further, with the help of derived MRC channel statistics (i.e. PDF and CDF), closed-form expressions for outage probability and average symbol error rate (SER) for the hybrid FSO/RF system based on MRC and adaptive combining schemes are derived. In an adaptive combining scheme, the MRC of FSO and RF links is employed at the receiver, if the operating FSO link quality is unacceptable for transmission. Further, the derived expressions are unified for both intensity modulation/direct detection (IM/DD) and heterodyne detection (HD) techniques. We have considered the effects of atmospheric path loss, atmospheric turbulence-induced fading and non-zero boresight pointing errors in case of the FSO link. We have also determined the optimum switching threshold and beam waist values for the adaptive combining scheme to achieve optimal performance. Moreover, computationally less complex asymptotic expressions are calculated and the diversity gains of MRC and adaptive combining schemes are determined. Finally, the performances of single-link FSO, hard-switching-based hybrid FSO/RF, MRC, and adaptive-combining-based hybrid FSO/RF systems are compared and the inferences are reported under various turbulence conditions, link distances, weather conditions, and severity of the pointing errors.

Performance Evaluation and Security Analysis of UAV-Based FSO/CV-QKD System Employing DP-QPSK/CD

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) based on free-space optical (FSO) systems combine the benefits of both the high data rate of the FSO and the mobility of UAV. However, cumulative effects of laser beam divergence and turbulence-induced fading on the received irradiance in the FSO link might allow an external eavesdropper located near the authorized receiver to break the transmission under certain conditions. Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a technique of secure communication that employs quantum mechanics-based cryptography principles. A combination of a continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) and Gaussian modulation of quantum coherent states (GMCS) enables a relatively secure communication system against collective attacks over FSO transmission links. However, the performance is restricted and degraded due to the influence of atmospheric turbulence and excess noise. This paper aims to evaluate the performance of a secured UAV-based FSO system utilizing prepare and measure CV-QKD protocol based on GMCS under collective attack in terms of quantum bit error rate (QBER), outage probability, and secret key rate (SKR) considering the impairments of the FSO channel, link budget, deviations in the position and attitude angles of the UAV, channel fluctuating transmittance, and excess noise. The system parameters, including transmit power, receiver’s field-of-view, and beam divergence angle, are optimized to satisfy the system’s design criteria of threshold-QBER <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$=10^{-3}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and threshold outage probability <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$=10^{-2}$</tex-math></inline-formula> . The proposed system tolerates boresight displacement up to 7 cm with the optimized values. The Closed-form expressions and analytical results are confirmed by Monte-Carlo simulations.

The BER Performance of the LDPC-Coded MPPM over Turbulence UWOC Channels

Turbulence-induced fading is a critical performance degrading factor for underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) systems. In this paper, we propose a quasi-cyclic (QC) low-density parity-check (LDPC) code with multiple-pulse-position modulation (MPPM) to overcome turbulence-induced fading. MPPM is adopted as a compromise between the low-power efficiency of on–off keying (OOK) and the low bandwidth efficiency of pulse position modulation (PPM). The bit error rate (BER) performance of LDPC-coded MPPM over turbulence UWOC channels is investigated. The log-likelihood ratio (LLR) of MPPM is derived, and a simplified approximation is used for iterative decoding. Subsequently, the closed-form expression of the BER, without forward error correction (FEC) code, is obtained for the generalized-gamma (GG) fading model. Finally, Monte-Carlo (MC) simulation results are provided to demonstrate the correctness of the derived closed-form expressions and the effectiveness of the LDPC code with simplified LLR to improve the BER performance for different MPPM formats over fading channels.

Outage probability analysis of a vertical underwater wireless optical link subject to oceanic turbulence and pointing errors

The reliability of an underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) network is seriously impacted by beam misalignment between transmitters (Txs) and receivers (Rxs). Also, the performance of UWOC systems can be affected by oceanic turbulence-induced fading due to fluctuations in the water refractive index as a result of variations in the pressure, water temperature, and salinity. In this work, we investigate the performance analysis of a vertical UWOC link subject to oceanic turbulence and pointing errors and further investigate the appropriate selection of link parameters to optimize link performance. This study is based on an accurate mathematical framework for link modeling while taking into account realistic Tx/Rx and channel parameters under different turbulence and beam misalignment conditions. We provide an analytical expression for calculating the link outage probability, whose accuracy is validated through numerical simulations. Last, the necessity of optimal Tx/Rx parameter selection to minimize the link outage is demonstrated. A laser beam is considered at the Tx, as well as an ultra-sensitive photodetector (silicon photo-multiplier) at the Rx to enable working at relatively long link ranges. The presented results give valuable insight into the practical aspects of deployment of UWOC networks.

ABER of M-QAM and K-PSK modulations over double-GG fading channel

ABSTRACT OFDM-based Radio on Free space optical (RoFSO) system gained attention of technocrats and researchers due to high data rates, license-free spectrum and ease of installation among the others. However, it is noteworthy to mention that turbulence-induced fading and pointing error are the major challenges of RoFSO system. Although various literatures include pointing error and/or turbulence induced fading to present different performance measures of RoFSO system, none of them includes all the turbulence condition from weak to strong. In contrary, Double Generalized Gamma (DGG) distribution shows perfect fit over the entire range of turbulence conditions from weak to strong. This research work presents various closed form expressions of BER for M-QAM and K-PSK schemes over DGG distribution under weak, moderate and strong turbulence conditions for the system with and without pointing error. Furthermore, as DGG distribution includes different fading channels such as Double Weibull and Gamma-gamma distribution as its special case. Therefore, we reproduce BER of M-QAM and K-PSK modulation schemes with and without pointing error over Double Weibull and Gamma-gamma fading channels. Simulation shows that irrespective of severity of turbulence, pointing error and/or increase in the order of modulation scheme deteriorate the system performance.

Performance analysis of multi-hop underwater wireless optical communication system with space-time block codes considering the impact of beam spread function

The average bit error rate (ABER) performance of the decode-and-forward-based multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) multi-hop underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) systems has been investigated over the composite exponential-generalized gamma (EGG) fading channel with space-time block coding (STBC). The impacts of absorption, scattering, and the misalignment caused by spatial spreading in the sea, which are modeled by the beam spread function, as well as the turbulence-induced fading are all taken into account in this work. With the help of the moment generating function, Meijer’s-G function, and Gauss–Laguerre quadrature numerical methods, the approximate closed-form expressions of ABER for the UWOC system with binary phase shift keying are mathematically derived. Furthermore, numerical analyses are provided to investigate the effects of various hops, temperature gradients, air bubbles levels, STBC schemes, and turbulence severity on the performance of the multi-hop MIMO UWOC system. In addition, Reed–Solomon (RS) codes are adopted to improve the UWOC system performance. Results reveal that the ABER performance of this multi-hop UWOC system would degrade as the temperature gradients, hop numbers, and bubble levels (BLs) increases, which could be improved considerably by employing the STBC scheme. The ABER performance over the composite EGG distribution is mainly limited by the environmental parameters, whereas the fading can be significantly improved by RS codes. The ABERs of EGG distribution are compared with exponential-gamma and exponential-lognormal distributions in oceanic turbulence under different temperature gradients and BLs, respectively. These analytical results are also verified by Monte Carlo simulations. This work is beneficial for the design of UWOC system.

Toward Practical Entanglement-Based Satellite FSO/QKD Systems Using Dual-Threshold/ Direct Detection

We propose a new implementation of the BBM92 protocol for satellite continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) systems using the dual-threshold/direct detection (DT/DD) scheme. The proposed system is less complex and therefore possibly cheaper than current discrete-variable (DV) and CV-QKD ones using coherent detection receivers. We model and analyze the performance of the proposed system in the context that a satellite distributes secret keys to two legitimate users. The analytical results are derived by considering channel loss, atmospheric turbulence-induced fading, and receiver noises. The Gaussian beam model is considered to evaluate the impact of geometric spread on the signal received by legitimate users and the possibility of being eavesdropped. Based on the design criteria for the system and analytical results, we investigate the feasibility of a case study for the Japan QKD network using the existing low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation.

Hybrid MPPM-BB84 Quantum Key Distribution Over FSO Channel Considering Atmospheric Turbulence and Pointing Errors

Nowadays, a high level of security is required for the transmission of critical information. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems are considered the best option to protect such information. Many studies have shown the efficiency of the QKD optical fiber inspired by M-ary pulse position modulation (MPPM). Free-Space Optical (FSO) links provide an efficient and effective data transmission system. However, cumulative effects of laser beam divergence, misalignment, and turbulence-induced fading on the received irradiance in the FSO link might allow an external eavesdropper located near the authorized receiver to break the transmission under certain conditions. This paper introduces the development of an FSO system based on the MPPM and the BB84 protocol (MPPM-BB84) over the Gamma-Gamma (GG) turbulence channel with pointing errors. Time Binning is implemented using MPPM to increase system security and reduce the quantum bit error rate (QBER). The system security is investigated under photon number splitting attack and excess noise. Closed-form expressions for asymptotic expressions of the average symbol error probability (SER), raw key rate (RKR), and secret key rate (SKR) are introduced. Moreover, the Monte-Carlo simulations are then used to prove the validity of the analytical results. The optimal values for the average photon number per pulse (to achieve the maximum RKR and SKR) for each symbol length can guarantee the stability of the FSO system under different weather conditions. Smaller symbol lengths are more tolerant of detector loss. The proposed system supports linking distances from 1 km to 3 km while keeping the SKR almost constant.