Open AccessOn the scattering-induced fading for optical wireless links through seawater: statistical characterization and its applications
Author(s) -
Pedro Salcedo-Serrano,
Rubén Boluda-Ruiz,
José María Garrido-Balsells,
Antonio García-Zambrana
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.439138
Subject(s) - fading , weibull fading , fading distribution , scattering , monte carlo method , gamma distribution , probability density function , bit error rate , weibull distribution , physics , computer science , channel (broadcasting) , optics , electronic engineering , statistical physics , telecommunications , rayleigh fading , statistics , mathematics , engineering
Recent research has shown that an accurate underwater channel characterization is necessary for underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) in order to improve its current limitations related to the achievable data rate and the link distance, as required in undersea optical networks. This paper presents a new statistical model to characterize the scattering effect in terms of a fading never considered before. In this way, the probability density function of the scattering-induced fading channel is derived by means of a Gamma distribution by using only one degree of freedom in clear ocean and coastal waters. The developed fading model is employed to compute the performance of UOWC systems in terms of bit error rate and outage probability along with turbulence-induced fading modeled by a Weibull distribution. The results prove that smaller diversity order values are achieved when scattering-induced fading is the dominant effect, i.e., when the condition σ s 2>1 β 1 is satisfied, where σ s 2 and β 1 are parameters related to the Gamma and Weibull distributions, respectively. Moreover, the optical power penalty due to scattering-induced fading is analytically evaluated in several turbulence conditions to provide a deeper insight. Optical power penalty values of up to 6 dB and 9 dB are achieved when compared with no scattering scenarios at moderate distances for clear ocean and coastal waters. As a key feature, scattering should be always considered in terms of fading for future designs of advanced UOWC systems. The analytical results are verified by Monte Carlo simulations.