PROJECT PROPOSAL

Project Title: Channel Modeling for Terrestrial Free-Space Optical Links

Group Members: Abdul Basit Ijaz te04 – 0115

Asad-ullah Noor te04 – 0145
Irfan Yaqoob te04 – 0171
Safi Haider te04 – 0113

Faculty Advisor: Dr. S. M. Sajid

A BSTRACT

Free-Space Optics (FSO) or Optical Wireless is a line-of-sight

technology that refers to the transmission of modulated visible or infrared
beams through the air to obtain optical communications. Like optical fiber,
Free-Space Optics (FSO) uses lasers to transmit data, but instead of enclosing
the data stream in a glass fiber, it is transmitted through the air. The FSO
technology has enabled the development of a new category of outdoor
wireless products that can transmit voice, data, and video at bandwidths up to
1.25 Gbps. Optical wireless also eliminates the need to buy expensive
spectrum for radio frequency solutions. The advantages of free-space optical
wireless do not come without some cost. The FSO links must contend with a
complex and not always quantifiable subject - the atmosphere.
The terrestrial FSO links must deal with the atmosphere just above the
surface of the earth, where it has maximum density due to the gravitational
force. The terrestrial Free-Space Optical communication channels must be
modeled to combat changes in the atmosphere, which can affect FSO system’s
performance capacity. The atmospheric attenuators for the terrestrial FSO
links are fog, snow, sunlight, rain, absorption, scattering, solar interference
and scintillation losses. Some other attenuators include the physical
obstructions and the building sway or seismic activity.
This project is aiming to provide a simulation for the terrestrial free-
space optical channel with precise mathematical models for the most
preclusive attenuators. We will able to determine the reliability and the
performance of any terrestrial FSO channel for the modeled attenuators
through this simulation.

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 Given below is a brief over-view of the attenuators which are going to
be modeled for the terrestrial FSO channels in this project.
i. Fog: Fog is vapor composed of water droplets, can modify light
characteristics or completely hinder the passage of light through a
combination of absorption, scattering, and reflection. Its attenuation
will be modeled.
ii. Rain: Rain is also an important attenuator for the optical signals and
the specific attenuation for rain has been modeled.
iii. Snow: The attenuation due to snow fall will be modeled based on dry
or wet snows.
iv. Scintillation Losses: Randomly distributed cells are formed under the
influence of thermal turbulence inside the propagation medium; the
wave fronts vary causing the focusing and defocusing of the beam,
called Reflective turbulences. Such fluctuations of the signal are called
scintillations. The attenuation caused due to scintillation losses will be
modeled.

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