Optical Wireless Research Articles

Advancements in Underwater Optical Wireless Communication: Channel Modeling, PAPR Reduction, and Simulations With OFDM

Advancements in Underwater Optical Wireless Communication: Channel Modeling, PAPR Reduction, and Simulations With OFDM

Investigating performance of optical communication system with FSO/OWC channel

Abstract In recent years, the evolution of optical wireless communication (OWC) system has emerged as a viable alternative to radio frequency communication. These technologies provide an effective solution for addressing the need for point-to-point communication, offering benefits such as higher bandwidth, faster data rates, no licensing requirements, low power usage, quick and simple installation, enhanced security, and resistance to electromagnetic interference. In this article, we analyze two wireless optical communication systems: one using an FSO channel and the other using an OWC channel. The analysis focuses on range and quality factor as performance metrics. We examine the performance of one-to-many Tx/Rx FSO/OWC channel under three different atmospheric conditions: clear weather, haze, and fog, using eye diagrams. The system analysis includes mathematical models for the received optical power and the pointing error. Additionally, we investigate the impact of spatial diversity on the performance of FSO/OWC channel with configurations of 1 × 1, 2 × 2, 4 × 4, and 8 × 8. Our findings indicate that the 8 × 8 FSO/OWC configurations yield better results compared to other configurations and the OWC channel performs well over long distances up to 110 km, while the FSO channel is more suitable for short range communication up to 37 km.

Two-way 5G NR FSO-HCF-UWOC converged systems with R/G/B 3-wavelength and SLM-based beam-tracking scheme.

A two-way fifth-generation (5G) new radio (NR) free-space optical (FSO)-hollow-core fibre (HCF)-underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) converged systems with a red/green/blue (R/G/B) 3-wavelengths and spatial light modulator (SLM)-based beam-tracking scheme is practically built. It is the first to practically build a two-way FSO-HCF-UWOC converged system with high-speed and long-distance optical wireless-wired-underwater wireless communication characteristics. It shows a 5G NR FSO-HCF-UWOC convergence from drone or buildings to undersea, using R/G/B 3-wavelengths and an SLM as a demonstration. The R/G/B 3-wavelengths are used to enhance the downstream and upstream aggregate transmission rates. An SLM with electrical comparator is used to adjust the laser beam and mitigate laser beam misalignment caused by drone movement or ocean flow. Over a hybrid of 1-km FSO, 10-m HCF, and 10.44-m ocean water-air-ocean water medium, downstream/upstream 5G-millimeter-wave (MMW) 9.1-Gb/s/24-GHz signals are transmitted with satisfactorily low bit error rates and error vector magnitudes, as well as distinct constellations. This demonstrated that the 5G NR FSO-HCF-UWOC converged system exhibits promising potential as it advances the scenario implemented by the 5G-MMW signals over FSO, HCF, and UWOC convergence, paving the way for high-speed and long-distance communications across diverse media.

Bidirectional high-speed optical wireless communication with tunable large field of view assisted by liquid crystal metadevice

Bidirectional high-speed optical wireless communication with tunable large field of view assisted by liquid crystal metadevice

Solution-Processed CsPbBr3 Perovskite Photodetectors for Cost-Efficient Underwater Wireless Optical Communication System.

Underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) has attracted increasing attention due to its advantages in bandwidth, latency, interference resistance, and security. Photodetectors, as a crucial part of receivers, have been continuously developed with the great progress that has been made in advanced materials. Metal halide perovskites emerging as promising optoelectronic materials in the past decade have been used to fabricate various high-performance photodetectors. In this work, high-performance CsPbBr3 perovskite PDs were realized via solution process, with low noise, a high responsivity, and a fast response. Based on these perovskite PDs, a cost-efficient UWOC system was successfully demonstrated on an FPGA platform, achieving a data rate of 6.25 Mbps with a low bit error rate of 0.36%. Due to lower background noise under environment illumination, perovskite PDs exhibit better communication stability before reaching a data rate threshold; however, the BER increases rapidly due to the long fall time, resulting in difficulty in distinguishing switching signals. Reducing the fall time of perovskite PDs and using advanced coding techniques can help to further improve the performance of the UWOC system based on perovskite PDs. This work not only demonstrates the potential of perovskite PDs in the application of UWOC, but also improves the development of a cost-effective UWOC system based on FPGAs.

4-Gbps low-latency FPGA-based underwater wireless optical communication

In this paper, a high-speed and real-time underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) system based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is designed and demonstrated using the field programmable gate array (FPGA) with a miniaturized demo board designed and made by ourselves. Through the parallel signal processing mode (i.e., our self-designed 8-path parallel radix-22 FFT/IFFT module) and the utilization of cyclic suffix (CS) instead of cyclic prefix (CP), the throughput and delay of the digital signal processing (DSP) are improved. Moreover, a low-complexity pilot-aided clock synchronization (PAS) scheme is proposed to solve the transmission errors induced by the frequency offset between the transmitter and receiver. The implementation details, as well as the analysis of resource utilization and latency, are presented. The feasibility and effectiveness of the designed real-time FPGA-based UWOC system in different turbidity waters is experimentally demonstrated. The results show that the proposed PAS scheme greatly reduces the bit error rate (BER) when the frequency offset is within ∼1.57 ppm. Furthermore, 16.3-m/ 2-Gbps and 14.1-m/ 4-Gbps real-time underwater transmission are successfully achieved, which to the best of our knowledge, is the highest data rate in real-time UWOC systems that has ever been reported, and the overall latency of the UWOC system is as low as 0.92 µs. The designed high-speed real-time UWOC system foresees a bright future in underwater applications over short to moderate distances.

Performance investigation of UOWC system based on OAM beams for various Jerlov water types

This paper introduces a novel high-speed underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) system employing three distinct orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams. A single green laser source operating at 532 nm generates these beams: LG0,0,LG0,20,andLG0,50, each transmitting data at 10 Gbps. The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of absorption and scattering coefficients for five Jerlov water types: I (JI), IA (JIA), IB (JIB), II (JII), and III (JIII). Simulation results demonstrate the system ability to transmit multiple data streams simultaneously using distinct OAM modes, achieving an overall capacity of 30 Gbps. The longest underwater (UW) transmission distance of 22 m is achieved in JI water as it exhibits the lowest attenuation. This range decreases by 9.09 %, 31.82 %, 59.09 %, and 80.91 % in JIA, JIB, JII, and JIII, respectively, due to increased attenuation in these water types. These results are obtained with a log (BER) below −5 and a Q-factor above 4, indicating successful data reception. The findings highlight the potential of OAM multiplexing for enhancing data capacity in challenging underwater environments.

Joint optimization of spatial correlation for space-constrained MIMO underwater optical wireless communication system in weak turbulence

For the space-constrained underwater installations, spatial correlation is an essential factor affecting the reliability of the underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) system with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology. In this paper, a joint optimization method for the layout and transmit power allocation of the light-emitting diode (LED)-based UOWC system is proposed and demonstrated under the weak turbulent channel. To analysis the transmission performance of the MIMO UOWC system, a composite channel model incorporating absorption, scattering and weak turbulence effects is established, and the channel spatial correlation characteristics with various system parameters is analyzed based on this model. Among these parameters, we take a 9 × 9 MIMO UOWC system as an example to simulate the communication performance of the optimization method under different turbulence intensities. The simulation results show the optimized system exhibits a channel capacity improvement of 13bps/Hz compared to the original system at the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 20 dB and the same turbulence intensity. Moreover, the SNR of jointly optimized system can achieve a gain of 5 dB at the same bit error rate (BER). By extending the joint optimization algorithm to a 16 × 16 MIMO UOWC system, the optimized SNR can also obtain a gain of 7.5 dB which effectively demonstrates the universality of the proposed joint optimization algorithm.

Full-duplex dynamic TDMA scheme and clock synchronization and compensation method for the multi-user UWOC system.

In this Letter, we propose a full-duplex dynamic time division multiple access (FDD-TDMA) scheme for multi-user underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC). It supports full-duplex communication through wavelength division duplex (WDD) and enhances the system throughput using dynamic time resource allocation. Additionally, a clock synchronization and compensation method is proposed for precise clock synchronization without time-keeping. With the proposed FDD-TDMA scheme and the clock synchronization and compensation method, we establish a two-user UWOC system based on on-off keying (OOK) modulation. Experiments are conducted in a 10 m water pool environment. The experimental results show that the designed system can achieve a data rate of 25 Mbps without error codes and 40 Mbps with a bit error rate (BER) below the forward error correction (FEC) limit. The FDD-TDMA scheme notably improves the system throughput when communication demands among users are variable compared to the conventional time division multiple access (TDMA). Moreover, a reduction in phase deviations from microseconds to ten nanoseconds is achieved by the clock synchronization and compensation method.

Adaptive Control for Underwater Simultaneous Lightwave Information and Power Transfer: A Hierarchical Deep-Reinforcement Approach

In this work, we consider a point-to-point underwater optical wireless communication scenario where an underwater sensor (US) transmits its sensing data to a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Before the US transmits its data to the ROV, the ROV performs simultaneous lightwave information and power transfer (SLIPT), delivering both control data and lightwave power to the US. Under the considered scenario, our objective is to maximize energy harvesting at the US while supporting predetermined communication performance between the two nodes. To achieve this objective, we develop a hierarchical deep Q-network (DQN)–deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG)-based online algorithm. This algorithm involves two reinforcement learning agents: the ROV and US. The role of the ROV agent is to determine an optimal beam-divergence angle that maximizes the received optical signal power at the US while ensuring a seamless optical link. Meanwhile, the US agent, which is influenced by the decision of the ROV agent, is responsible for determining the time-switching and power-splitting ratios to maximize energy harvesting without compromising the required communication performance. Unlike existing studies that do not account for adaptive parameter control in underwater SLIPT, the proposed algorithm’s adaptive nature allows for the dynamic fine-tuning of optimization parameters in response to varying underwater environmental conditions and diverse user requirements.

Efficient Redirection of Trapped Broad-Band Fluorescence from Substrates into Free Space Using c-Si Metasurfaces.

Fluorescent dye films on transparent substrates are essential for OLEDs, flexible displays, X-ray detection, and wireless optical communications. However, their efficiency is often hampered by fluorescence trapping due to total internal reflection (TIR) and waveguiding. This study tackles this longstanding challenge by reconceptualizing the integration of dye films with nanoantenna metasurfaces. Traditional methods involve directly spin-coating films onto c-Si metasurfaces on quartz substrates, resulting in edge luminescence and weak inner signals. We present a straightforward, adjustable approach by integrating dye films on the opposite side of quartz substrates, reaching a 2.5-fold photoluminescence enhancement and improving the uniformity of the emission compared to the conventional methods. These gains stem from redirecting a significant portion of leaked fluorescence light trapped inside the substrate into free space, surpassing TIR conditions through in-plane diffraction orders of the metasurfaces across the full RGB spectrum. Our findings facilitate the design of more efficient luminescent devices.

Fading model due to scintillation and pointing error on an optical wireless MISO channel

Optical wireless communication (OWC) yields high data rates and a license-free spectrum. However, OWC is drastically affected by scintillation owing to atmospheric turbulence and pointing errors because of misalignment. To alleviate the ramifications of scintillation and pointing error, multiple input single output (MISO) optical wireless channels are studied by several researchers. In this paper, it is proposed to study the performance of a MISO system in terms of the probability of outage and normalized threshold. Gamma–Gamma distribution is used to model scintillation because it is suitable for modeling both weak and strong turbulence conditions. The analytical technique is used to derive the closed-form expressions for the probability of outage of a 2×1 MISO channel. Moreover, under numerous scintillation conditions, the Mellin transform is applied to derive the closed-form expressions for the probability of outage of an optical wireless MISO channel. The closed-form results are validated through simulations.

Microwave-assisted in-situ synthesis of low-dimensional perovskites within metal-organic frameworks for optoelectronic applications

Halide perovskites are renowned for their remarkable optoelectronic properties, yet their application is hindered by stability challenges. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising matrices for enhancing perovskite durability. In this study, we achieved the in-situ synthesis of a series of perovskites within the MOF-5 matrix, spanning three-dimensional, quasi two-dimensional, and two-dimensional structures, via microwave-assisted reaction techniques. This microwave synthesis method has proven to be a rapid and efficient approach for the high-yield production of perovskite materials. These MOF-5⊃perovskites exhibited superior optical properties, positioning them as promising candidates for various optoelectronic applications, including white light-emitting diodes and optical wireless communication (OWC) systems. Significantly, our perovskites demonstrated high and consistent communication rates, making them suitable for both space and underwater OWC deployments. Overall, our study underscores the potential of microwave-assisted synthesis in advancing high-performance perovskite materials, offering valuable insights for the development of future optoelectronic devices.

A Novel Underwater Wireless Optical Communication Optical Receiver Decision Unit Strategy Based on a Convolutional Neural Network

A Novel Underwater Wireless Optical Communication Optical Receiver Decision Unit Strategy Based on a Convolutional Neural Network

Bidirectional wavelength-division-multiplexing fibre-free-space optical communications using polarisation multiplexing technique and tunable optical vestigial sideband filter

To address the growing demand from emerging applications, high transmission capacity is essential for both fibre backbones and last-mile communications. This can be achieved by integrating optical fibre with optical wireless technologies, facilitating the development of fibre-free-space optical communications. Here we report a bidirectional wavelength-division-multiplexing fibre-free-space optical communication employing polarisation multiplexing technique and tunable optical vestigial sideband filter. The transmission capacity is considerably increased by integrating the polarisation multiplexing technique with the wavelength-division-multiplexing scheme. The transmission performance is extensively enhanced by using a tunable optical vestigial sideband filter and vestigial sideband-four-level pulse amplitude modulation. Moreover, the optical wireless link is substantially extended through the operation of triplet lenses. Low bit error rates and clear vestigial sideband-four-level pulse amplitude modulation eye diagrams are attained with a high aggregate transmission capacity of 480 Gb/s for downstream/upstream transmission. This capability of bidirectional fibre-free-space optical communications holds substantial potential for enhancing advanced wired-wireless communications.

Tbps wide-field parallel optical wireless communications based on a metasurface beam splitter

Optical wireless communication (OWC) stands out as one of the most promising technologies in the sixth-generation (6G) mobile networks. The establishment of high-quality optical links between transmitters and receivers plays a crucial role in OWC performances. Here, by a compact beam splitter composed of a metasurface and a fiber array, we proposed a wide-angle (~120°) OWC optical link scheme that can parallelly support up to 144 communication users. Utilizing high-speed optical module sources and wavelength division multiplexing technique, we demonstrated each user can achieve a communication speed of 200 Gbps which enables the entire system to support ultra-high communication capacity exceeding 28 Tbps. Furthermore, utilizing the metasurface polarization multiplexing, we implemented a full range wide-angle OWC without blind area nor crosstalk among users. Our OWC scheme simultaneously possesses the advantages of high-speed, wide communication area and multi-user parallel communications, paving the way for revolutionary high-performance OWC in the future.

Aggregation Induced Emission-Based Covalent Organic Frameworks for High-Performance Optical Wireless Communication.

Here, we report the first utilization of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) in optical wireless communication (OWC) applications. In the solid form, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) luminogen often shows promising emissive characteristics that augment radiative decays and improve fluorescence. We have synthesized an AIE-COF through the Knoevenagel condensation reaction by taking advantage of the ability to carefully design and alter the COF structure by integrating an AIE luminogen with linear building blocks. The synthesized AIE-COF exhibited a high solid-state photoluminescence quantum yield (∼39%) and a short photoluminescence lifetime (∼1 ns), crucial for achieving modulation bandwidth for high-speed OWC applications. For comparison, we constructed an aggregation-caused quenching based COF, showing a similar lifetime but almost insignificant quantum yield. The orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing modulation strategy employed by the AIE-COF demonstrates remarkable high-rate data transmission, with a wide -3 dB modulation bandwidth of nearly 200 MHz and achieving high net data rates of 825 Mb/s, outperforming traditional materials. These results open new avenues for the ability to design and finetune new COF materials for their utilization as color converters in developing cutting-edge OWC components, enabling faster and more efficient data transfer.

Performance comparison of various end-to-end learning technologies with a bandwidth-limited OWC system

Recently, end-to-end (E2E) learning methodologies have garnered significant attention as a compelling approach to attain global optimal communication within the domain of 6 G native intelligent systems. Nevertheless, a precise evaluation of the diverse E2E techniques is still lacking, leading to uncertainties regarding their applicable scenarios and effectiveness. In this paper, we present a comprehensive comparison applying three advanced E2E methods including the autoencoder-based geometric shaping (AEGS) model, comprehensive autoencoder (CAE) model, and wave-wise auto-equalization (WWAE) model in a real bandwidth-limited optical wireless communication (OWC) system. A novel attention-based comprehensive noise joint channel estimator (ACNJCE) is proposed to serve as a universal channel model adaptable to the existing E2E methods. Based on traditional carrier-less amplitude and phase modulation (CAP) modulation, AEGS, WWAE, and CAE are compared under the conditions of 2 GBaud and 3 GBaud respectively. The final results demonstrate that the CAE exhibits the capability to autonomously allocate bandwidth and achieves the highest dynamic adjustment range, which is increased by 69% compared with CAP based on neural network (NN) equalization. In contrast, AEGS has obvious advantages in terms of received optical power (ROP) gain. Based on bit-power loading discrete multi-tone modulation (DMT) modulation, WWAE can effectively compensate the signal spectrum after modulation order optimization and finally achieves the highest data rate under the condition that the −3 dB bandwidth of the channel is only close to 1 GHz. The BER of WWAE with DMT at this rate is 25.2% of that using the NN equalization. Furthermore, experimental results under turbulent conditions reveal that AEGS exhibits superior and more stable performance amidst the perturbations caused by turbulence due to its ability to achieve end-to-end autonomous optimization while integrating traditional modulation and bringing additional shaping gain. According to our knowledge, this marks the first comprehensive evaluation and comparison of existing major E2E algorithms and traditional communication algorithms in a real OWC system.

Capacity Optimization for RSMA-Based Multi-User System over Underwater Turbulence Channel

The underwater environment used for communication is harsh and complex, necessitating heightened standards for spectral efficiency and reliability in underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) systems. The focus of this work is on the performance of multi-user UWOC systems operating in oblique channels of ocean turbulence downlink, where users are randomly distributed at a certain depth. A joint optimization scheme is proposed, which joints rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) and power allocation so that the system’s ergodic sum capacity is optimized to improve the transmission bandwidth. Furthermore, the probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) models for the received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system operating in the turbulent underwater oblique channels are established, accounting for the avalanche photodiode (APD) shot noise and solar radiation noise. Theoretical derivations are presented to quantify the ergodic capacity and outage probability of the multi-user system utilizing the RSMA technology. Subsequently, a numerical analysis is conducted to investigate the influence of the power allocation coefficient, RSMA, and the joint optimization algorithm on the performance of a two-user MIMO system leveraging RSMA. The simulation results show that our optimization scheme effectively reduces the outage probability, thereby achieving the maximum system sum rate and validating the practical feasibility and efficacy of the proposed scheme.

Survey on Optical Wireless Communication with Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces

Optical Wireless Communication (OWC) technology has gained significant attention in recent years due to its potential for providing high-data-rate wireless connections through the large license-free bandwidth available. A key challenge in OWC systems, similar to high-frequency Radiofrequency (RF) systems, is the presence of dead zones caused by obstacles like buildings, trees, and moving individuals, which can degrade signal quality or disrupt data transmission. Traditionally, relays have been used to mitigate these issues. Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces (IRSs) have recently emerged as a promising solution, enhancing system performance and flexibility by providing reconfigurable communication channels. This paper presents an overview of the application of IRSs in OWC systems. Specifically, we categorize IRSs into two main types: mirror array-based IRSs and metasurface-based IRSs. Furthermore, we delve into modeling approaches of mirror array-based IRSs in OWC and analyze recent advances in IRS control, which are classified into system power or gain optimization-oriented, system link reliability optimization-oriented, system data rate optimization-oriented, system security optimization-oriented, and system energy optimization-oriented approaches. Moreover, we present the principles of metasurface-based IRSs from a physical mechanism perspective, highlighting their application in OWC systems through the distinct roles of light signal refraction and reflection. Finally, we discuss the key challenges and potential future directions for integrating IRS with OWC systems, providing insights for further research in this promising field.