Characterization of fog attenuation in terrestrial free space optical links

Abstract

Terrestrial free space optical (FSO) links are based on the simple concept of a light beam carrying information, thus facilitating very high data rates. Fog remains the major hurdle in increasing the availability and reliability of terrestrial FSO links, as fog particles scatter the propagating light, causing nonnegligible attenuation. We present measurement results from our campaigns carried out at the continental city of Graz and at La Turbie near Nice, the southern coast of France. We perform a detailed analysis of the measurement results providing time-series analysis of these fog measurements and a comparison between maritime and continental fogs. Based on our measurement analysis, we provide insight into designing efficient FSO systems, with better performance and enhanced resilience.