Experimental Setup to Validate the Effects of Major Environmental Parameters on the Performance of FSO Communication Link in Qatar

Abstract

Weather conditions and chemical composition of the atmosphere are the most uncontrollable challenges for free-space optical (FSO) communications. Environmental parameters contribute directly in the characterization of atmospheric turbulence. Thus, it is very interesting to prepare a test setup to study the effect of such parameters on FSO transmissions especially in a region like Qatar, which is arid and has harsh climate. Unlike that of Europe and USA, Qatar’s climate is characterized by high temperatures throughout the year, exceeding 14 °C even in winter. The experiment was carried at Qatar University (QU) using a system that comprises of two Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) boards and two FSO terminals installed at 600 m apart from each other. Each terminal operates at 1550 nm and had a capacity of 1 Gb/s. On the other hand, the environment parameters were recorded using a weather station installed near the transmitter. To have a wider set of data for analysis, parameters from four different seasons were recorded and analyzed. We present a comparison between the FSO performances for the different seasons in terms of Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR). We notice a significant difference in the behavior of FSO during summer and winter seasons. Furthermore, using statistics on the data collected from the weather station and based on Blaunstein model (BKB), we correlate the FSO behavior to the variation of refractive index (Cn2) in winter. Also a closed form expression, estimated from the statistical data, has been derived to relate the PDR with environmental parameters for the summer season.

FSO link attenuation measurement in extreme winter conditions for secure 5G applications

“…However, the results by Khandakar et.al. 22 (another measurement campaign in Qatar) show that high temperature and sunlight negatively affect the performance of FSO systems. In our measurement results, as seen in Fig.…”

Special Issue on Light Communications: Latest Advances and Prospects

“…This theoretical work also addresses the applicability of diversity reception, identifying fading scenarios where multiple amplifiers can be used despite the associated increase in optical noise. Khandakar and co-authors [5] have conducted experimental research on the effects of weather conditions and the chemical composition of the atmosphere on FSO communications. The authors set up their experiment in Qatar, a region with arid and harsh weather, and monitored the system performance during the four seasons.…”

Multi-Channel Networked MIMO-MPC-based SiL/HiL/MiL for CC/CV Sections’ Optimization in 6th Gen Hybrid/Islanded Inverters for Mobile Green Nano-Grids in FEW Nexus

“… Utility, Genset, and prime-movers synching for programmable AC bus designs investigation.  Multi-PIDs and MIMO control strategies for CV/CC equalization [24][25][26][27].  Storage and buffering sources (batteries and super-capacitors) bi-directional conversion approach.…”