Analyzing the cloud attenuation on the performance of free space optical communication

Abstract

The clear line of sight requirement of optical wireless links for ground-to-ground, air-to-air and ground-to-space communication applications is not always fulfilled due to earth's free-space atmospheric channel. The weather conditions like fog, rain, snow and clouds cause strong attenuation of the optical signals and communication links outages, ultimately result in the reduced visibility range. So the influence of cloud attenuation on the performance of optical wireless links is studied and analyzed. Simulations are performed to compare the performance of the optical wireless link under different cloud attenuation. The received power estimated for a given visibility range depends on the transmitted power. It is observed that the link length depends on the cloud type present for a given transmission wavelength as the attenuation is wavelength dependent. Out of the three types of the cloud studied in this work, stratocumulus cloud affects the signal transmission the most.