On Limitations of Using Silicon Photo-Multipliers for Underwater Wireless Optical Communications

Hamza, Tasnim; Khalighi, Mohammad-Ali

doi:10.1109/wacowc.2019.8770202

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Although we neglected the effect of background noise, it can severely affect the Rx performance due to the high sensitivity of SiPMs. In a recent study [39], the impact of solar background noise on the link performance was investigated for a worst-case scenario, i.e., sun at the zenith and the Rx plan directed towards the sea surface, this way, capturing the maximum solar irradiation [30]. It was shown that for the case of clear ocean waters and considering OOK modulation and the MicroSB-30020 SiPM model, for operation depths (with respect to the Rx) larger than ∼ 250 m the link performance is not practically affected by the background noise [39].…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Silicon-Photomultiplier-Based Underwater Wireless Optical Communication Using Pulse-Amplitude Modulation

Khalighi

Akhouayri

Hranilovic

2020

IEEE J. Oceanic Eng.

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Emerging maritime applications arising from the continued growth of the marine economy have an inherent need for high data rate underwater wireless links. Within this context, underwater wireless optical communication is known as a promising technology for data transmission over shortto-medium ranges; the current available technology provides a transmission span of about 100 m. In view of extending the transmission range, silicon photo-multipliers (SiPMs) have recently emerged as a photo-detection solution offering high receiver (Rx) sensitivity together with operational flexibility. In this paper, we introduce the use of pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) together with frequency-domain equalization (FDE) at the Rx to boost the communication rate beyond the bandwidth (BW) limitation of the optoelectronic components. For instance, for a link BW limited to 2 MHz and 2-PAM transmission with a target BER of 10 −4 , the link becomes nonoperational for data rates larger than ∼ 8 Mbps without equalization, whereas much higher data rates can be attained using FDE, e.g., 20 and 50 Mbps with maximum ranges of 28 and 10 m, respectively, in clear waters for the SensL MicroSB-30020 SiPM and an average transmit optical power of 0.6 W only. Meanwhile, the nonlinear distortion of the SiPM is shown to limit the modulation order and thus the data rate in relatively short ranges. We also propose appropriate processing for PAM modulation and demodulation, given the quantum-noise-limited Rx when using an SiPM. We show that the use of non-binary PAM is undeniably advantageous for moderate data-rates (symbol rate a few MHz larger than the overall link BW) when no channel equalization is performed at the Rx. However, when employing FDE, only for very high data rates (e.g., symbol rate ten times larger than the link BW), where the link frequency response becomes highly frequency selective, the non-binary PAM becomes practically interesting, outperforming 2-PAM.

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Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Silicon-Photomultiplier-Based Underwater Wireless Optical Communication Using Pulse-Amplitude Modulation

Khalighi

Akhouayri

Hranilovic

2020

IEEE J. Oceanic Eng.

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“…The received photon rate which gives the highest detected photon rate is λ max = 1/τ d and the corresponding detected photon rate is λ D,max = 1/eτ d . The non-linear distortion shown in the photon transfer function (14) would significantly influence the performance of the SPAD-based receivers [35]. To involve the non-linear distortion into the system analysis, it is commonly assumed that the detected photon count of SPAD array is Poisson distributed with effective photon rate given in (14) which is an accurate approximation in low photon arrival rate regimes as illustrated in [15], [36].…”

Section: B Performance Of the Spad Arraymentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid SPAD/PD Receiver for Reliable Free-Space Optical Communication

Huang

Safari

2020

IEEE Open J. Commun. Soc.

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Free-space optical (FSO) communication provides wireless optical connectivity with high data rates and low-cost implementation; however, its performance is strongly influenced by the power attenuation due to the infrequent adverse weather conditions. This paper proposes a novel highly sensitive dual-mode receiver comprising an array of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) and a PIN photodiode (PD) to enhance the availability of FSO links. In adverse weather conditions, the receiver operates in the SPADmode; whereas, in the clear weather conditions, the receiver works in the PD-mode. A hybrid receiver controller is employed in the proposed receiver to adaptively control the switching process based on the received light levels. The adaptive controller also adjusts the incident photon rate of the SPAD array using a variable optical attenuator (VOA) to optimize the performance of the SPAD unit. Our extensive performance analysis illustrates the superior achievable data rates of the proposed receiver under various weather conditions compared to the traditional FSO receivers with either PD or SPAD array.

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“…In order to push the data rate beyond the limited BW of the opto-electronic components, two common approaches are serial transmission with channel equalization at the Rx, and the use of high spectral efficiency modulation techniques such as multiple sub-carrier modulation [8]. For instance, the use of on-off keying (OOK), pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM), and pulse-position modulation (PPM) with frequency-domain equalization (FDE) was considered in [9,10]. Several works also have considered the use of O-OFDM for UWOC links, with the advantages of using a simple single-tap equalizer to equalize the frequency-selective aggregate channel.…”

Section: High Spectral Efficiency State-of-the-art Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The thermal noise effect is reasonably neglected, compared to the SiPM shot noise [50]. The background noise effect is also neglected, assuming that the Rx operates in relatively deep waters [10,51]. Hence, only the shot and dark noises of the SiPM are taken into account.…”

Section: Parameter Specificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For DCO and ACO, the considered default signal constellations are 4-QAM and 16-QAM, respectively. For LACO, we will use two layers with, by default, 8-QAM and 4-QAM in the first and the second layers, respectively, which results in the same spectral efficiency of η ≈ 1 bps/Hz as for the two former schemes from (10). Note that no bit or power loading is considered at the Tx in order to better see the limitations of each transmission scheme.…”

Section: Parameter Specificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optical OFDM for SiPM-Based Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Links

Essalih

Khalighi

Hranilovic

et al. 2020

Sensors

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Underwater optical wireless systems have dual requirements of high data rates and long ranges in harsh scattering and attenuation conditions. In this paper, we investigate the advantages and limitations of optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (O-OFDM) signaling when a silicon photo-multiplier (SiPM) is used at the receiver in order to ensure high sensitivity. Considering a light-emitting diode (LED) transmitter and taking into account the limited dynamic range imposed by the transmitter and the SiPM receiver, we study the performance of three popular O-OFDM schemes, i.e., DC-biased, asymmetrically-clipped, and layered asymmetrically-clipped O-OFDM (DCO-, ACO-, and LACO-OFDM, respectively). We consider a constraint on transmit electrical power PTxe and take into account the required DC bias for the three considered schemes in practice, showing the undeniable advantage of ACO- and LACO-OFDM in terms of energy efficiency. For instance, for the considered SiPM and LED components, a spectral efficiency of ∼1 bps/Hz with a data rate of 20 Mbps, a link range of 70 m, and a target bit-error-rate (BER) of 10−3, ACO and LACO allow a reduction of about 10 and 6 mW, respectively, in the required PTxe, compared to DCO-OFDM. Meanwhile, we show that when relaxing the PTxe constraint, DCO-OFDM offers the largest operational link range within which a target BER can be achieved. For instance, for a target BER of 10−3 and a data rate of 20 Mbps, and considering PTxe of 185, 80, and 50 mW for DCO-, LACO-, and ACO-OFDM, respectively, the corresponding intervals of operational link range are about 81, 74.3, and 73.8 m. Lastly, we show that LACO-OFDM makes a good compromise between energy efficiency and operational range flexibility, although requiring a higher computational complexity and imposing a longer latency at the receiver.

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On Limitations of Using Silicon Photo-Multipliers for Underwater Wireless Optical Communications

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

Silicon-Photomultiplier-Based Underwater Wireless Optical Communication Using Pulse-Amplitude Modulation

Silicon-Photomultiplier-Based Underwater Wireless Optical Communication Using Pulse-Amplitude Modulation

Hybrid SPAD/PD Receiver for Reliable Free-Space Optical Communication

Optical OFDM for SiPM-Based Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Links

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