A study on underwater optical wireless communication link capability in the Bay of Bengal

摘要

The paper presents a numerical underwater channel model developed in MATLAB for estimating the optical link budget between a light emitting diode (LED) based optical transmitter and a photo diode (PD) receiver when operated in the harbor, coastal and deep waters locations in the Bay of Bengal. The water samples are collected at different locations in the Bay of Bengal using a water sampler during an offshore research cruise. The optical attenuation, the main inherent parameter determining the range of the optical communication link is identified for the different waters using an underwater irradiance measurement system in the laboratory. The identified parameters are applied to the numerical model and found that a 10 W LED and a photo diode based system can provide the optical budget required for a horizontal underwater communication range of about 0.5, 14 and 35 m in the harbor, coastal and deep waters locations respectively. By increasing the transmitter power to 50 W, the operating range of the communication link could be increased up to 53 m in deep water locations in the Bay of Bengal.