Monte-Carlo-based channel characterization for underwater optical communication systems

We consider channel characterization for underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) systems. We focus on the channel impulse response and, in particular, quantify the channel time dispersion for different water types, link distances, and transmitter/receiver characteristics, taking into account realistic parameters. We use the Monte Carlo approach to simulate the trajectories of emitted photons propagating in water from the transmitter towards the receiver. During their propagation, photons are absorbed or scattered as a result of their interaction with different particles present in water. To model angle scattering, we use the two-term Henyey-Greenstein model in our channel simulator. We show that this model is more accurate than the commonly used Henyey-Greenstein model, especially in pure sea waters. Through the numerical results that we present, we show that, except for highly turbid waters, the channel time dispersion can be neglected when working over moderate distances. In other words, under such conditions, we do not suffer from any inter-symbol interference in the received signal. Lastly, we study the performance of a typical UWOC system in terms of bit-error-rate using the simple on-off-keying modulation. The presented results give insight into the design of UWOC systems.

I. Introduction

Even though oceans and seas cover the majority of the Earth's surface, they are still generally unexplored. This is especially the case for deep sea waters. The European FP7 SENSEnet project aims at developing novel sensors for underwater environment monitoring, as well as designing adequate infrastructures for the implementation and deployment of such sensors [1]. Of special interest are underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) due to their flexibility and simplicity of deployment compared to cabled networks.