Performance analysis of FSO communications in desert environments

This paper examines the performance of free space optical (FSO) communication systems in desert environments, focusing on the interaction between FSO technology and challenging atmospheric conditions like duststorms and fogs. The research aims to enhance the design and operation of FSO communication systems in these environments, where reliable connections are critical. The study evaluates the performance of the quadrature amplitude modulation-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (QAM-OFDM) technique to mitigate severe weather impacts on FSO communication links. We compare different modulation methods (AM, Duobinary RZ, Modified Duobinary RZ, OOK-RZ, and OOK-NRZ) in different weather conditions (light fog, moderate fog, heavy fog, light dust storm, and moderate dust storm). The results demonstrate that the 4QAM-OFDM modulation technique is highly effective in different fog conditions. It maintains an acceptable bit error rate (BER) in light fog, 0.5–1.5 km, and even at extended link distances. It achieves a BER of \(2\times 10^{-5}\) $2\times {10}^{-5}$ at 2.4 km. In moderate fog, it achieves a BER of \(6\times 10^{-5}\) $6\times {10}^{-5}$ at 1.75 km. In heavy fog, it maintains acceptable BER values within 0.5–0.8 km and a BER of \(5\times 10^{-5}\) $5\times {10}^{-5}$ at 1.35 km. In moderate dust, specifically at a link range of 0.64 km, the achieved BER value is \(7\times 10^{-7}\) $7\times {10}^{-7}$ . 4Qam-OFDM provides the most favorable values of received power compared to other modulation techniques.