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IEEE PHOTONICS JOURNAL, Vol. XX, No. X, XXX 2018 BAG et al.: HYBRID FSO USING RF/RF-FSO LINK ADAPTATION

Performance Analysis of Hybrid FSO Systems

Using FSO/RF-FSO Link Adaptation

Banibrata Bag1 , Akinchan Das1 , Imran Shafique Ansari2 , Member, IEEE, Aleš Prokeš3 ,
Chayanika Bose4 , Senior Member, IEEE, and Aniruddha Chandra5 , Senior Member, IEEE

1
Haldia Institute of Technology, Haldia, WB, India.
2
Global College of Engineering and Technology, Muscat, Oman.
3
Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic.
4
Jadavpur University, Kolkata, WB, India.
5
National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, WB, India.

DOI 10.1109/JPHOT.2018.XXXXXXX
1943-0655 © 2018 IEEE. Translations and content mining are permitted for academic research only.
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Manuscript received February 19, 2018; revised May 04, 2018. This work was supported by the Czech Science
Foundation, Project No. 17-27068S Mobile channel analysis and modelling in millimeter wave band, and by the
National Sustainability Program under grant LO1401 Interdisciplinary Research of Wireless Technologies. For the
research, the infrastructure of the SIX Center was used. Corresponding author: Aniruddha Chandra, Aleš Prokeš
(e-mail: aniruddha.chandra@ieee.org; prokes@feec.vutbr.cz).

Abstract: Free-space optical (FSO) links are considered as cost-effective, non-invasive alternative
to fiber optic cables for 5G cellular backhaul networking. For FSO based backhaul networks we
propose an additional millimeter-wavelength (MMW) radio-frequency (RF)-FSO link, used as a backup.
Uninterrupted and reliable network connection is possible by switching between primary FSO link and
the secondary RF-FSO link; when the primary link is under atmospheric turbulence, the secondary
link maintains connectivity as the MMW RF link exhibits complementary characteristics to atmospheric
effects. In order to analytically assess the improvement, we also derive concise mathematical ex-
pressions for different performance metrics like outage probability, average bit error rate (BER) and
capacity. Our results demonstrate that FSO/RF-FSO topology performs better than a single FSO link in
terms of outage probability and BER. The dual-hop mixed RF-FSO link is realized with an amplify and
forward (AF) relay that adapts an average power scaling (APS) strategy. The irradiance fluctuations in
the FSO links are modeled by gamma-gamma distribution assuming strong atmospheric turbulence
while it is assumed that the RF link experiences multipath Rayleigh fading. For switching between links
a single FSO threshold is considered first, followed by a dual FSO threshold to prevent unnecessary
switching.

Index Terms: Free-space optics, 5G cellular backhaul, gamma-gamma fading, backup RF-FSO link,
amplify-and-forward relay, link switching probability.

1. Introduction
The digital society of new generation is being accustomed to machine-to-machine (M2M) commu-
nication with high-speed Internet applications, and a demand for 1 Gbps connectivity per user is
required to fulfil the dream of Internet-of-Things (IoT) in 5G networks. M2M communication in IoT
would require communication between a huge number of connected devices. The challenge is to
realize a backhaul infrastructure that supports a large node density and can carry an overwhelming
amount of aggregated data. To extend the capacity, network operators are constantly diminishing

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IEEE PHOTONICS JOURNAL, Vol. XX, No. X, XXX 2018 BAG et al.: HYBRID FSO USING RF/RF-FSO LINK ADAPTATION

the size of the cells, but with every added base station the design of the backhaul network is
becoming complex as well as expensive.
Free-space optical (FSO) communication is expected to play a vital role in 5G wireless networks.
FSO links serve as a promising alternative to the conventional fiber optic cables utilized for
backhaul links due to the ease of deployment, rapid setup time, and low maintenance cost [1],
[2]. The downside of FSO is that it requires a clear line-of-sight (LOS) path and the propagation
is highly influenced by the atmospheric turbulence [3]. Some hybrid paradigms incorporating both
radio-frequency (RF) and FSO links have been proposed to combine the advantages of both links.
In particular, FSO links offer much better data rates than RF links but suffer from atmospheric
loss due to fog and scintillation whereas the RF link is a very good complement to FSO as RF
is relatively insensitive to weather and it can penetrate fog easily. In our proposed FSO/RF-FSO
scheme (see Fig. 1), the primary FSO link is utilized for better data rate when a clear LOS path
exists, else a backup RF-FSO link is activated to sustain the connectivity. Under primary FSO link
failure, this scheme provides a backup link to cope up with the weather conditions in hilly regions
and industrial belts where dense fog, cloud, or smog often engulfs a part of the FSO transmission
path.

1.1. Prior Work

While the idea of transmitting RF signals over FSO links in cellular mobile backhauls has been
around the corner for quite some time [4], the network architectures proposing a combination of
RF and FSO links are relatively new [5]. The proposed combinations are either serial where the
middle node (relay node) of the cascaded link is utilized for RF-optical conversion [6] or parallel
where a pair of RF and FSO links connects two network nodes to improve reliability [7].
The serial RF-FSO combination have been addressed in [8]–[10] where analytical expressions
for amount of fading, outage probability, bit/ symbol error rate, and ergodic capacity have been
derived. On the other hand, the parallel RF/FSO combination are considered in [11]–[13] where
novel coding schemes are proposed for switching between RF and FSO paths.
Again, for channel characterization, different statistical models have been prescribed for both
part of the links as RF and FSO links experience different atmospheric perturbations. For the RF
link, Rayleigh [14], Ricean [15], Nakagami-m [16], and generalized distributions [17] are proposed
to model the multipath fading. For characterizing atmospheric turbulence induced fading in FSO
links, log-normal distribution has been utilized for long [18], although the distribution is suitable
for modeling only weak turbulence. Recent experimental studies indicate that for FSO channel
modeling gamma-gamma distribution is the most preferable candidate as it can model weak,
moderate, and strong atmospheric turbulence conditions [19], [20].

1.2. Contributions
In this paper:
• A hybrid FSO/RF-FSO transmission scheme is presented to increase the availability and
reliability of next generation cellular backhaul networks. To the best of our knowledge, analysis
of performance metrics for a backhaul system where the primary FSO backhaul link is
augmented with a serial RF-FSO backup link, has not been reported in the open literature so
far. The proposed system is different from a hybrid RF/RF-FSO implementation [21]1 where
the mobile users communicate with the respective base station via a RF or a RF-FSO link.
• By modeling the RF fading and atmospheric turbulence induced FSO fading with Rayleigh and
gamma-gamma statistics, respectively, we derive analytical expressions for outage probability,
average bit-error rate (BER), and ergodic capacity.
• The derived mathematical expressions for different performance metrics are presented in
terms of Meijer’s G-functions that can be accurately and easily computed using MATLAB or
Wolfram Mathematica.
1 This paper was co-authored by one of the current authors.

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IEEE PHOTONICS JOURNAL, Vol. XX, No. X, XXX 2018 BAG et al.: HYBRID FSO USING RF/RF-FSO LINK ADAPTATION

• Two different link switching strategies are examined - a single FSO threshold scheme which
offers simplicity in transceiver design, and a dual FSO threshold scheme that prevents un-
necessary switching between primary FSO link and backup mixed RF-FSO link.
• All the mathematical analyses are verified through Monte Carlo simulations.

1.3. Organisation
The rest of this paper is structured as follows. Section II describes the proposed system model
followed by statistical channel modeling of the primary FSO link and the backup RF-FSO link.
Section III describes the link switching operation in Algorithm-1 under single FSO threshold
scheme and presents analytical framework for calculation of outage probability, average BER,
and ergodic capacity. The link switching operation for dual FSO threshold scheme is given in
Algorithm-2 in Section IV followed by calculation of all the above-mentioned performance metrics
under the dual threshold scheme. Both these sections contain the respective plots of numerical
results as well. Finally, Section V concludes the paper with a brief summary and mentions possible
directions to extend the current work.

2. System Configuration and Channel Model

In our proposed hybrid FSO/RF-FSO system, the FSO link works in parallel with a mixed RF-FSO
link 2 , as the one depicted in Fig. 1. The source (S) contains an RF transmitter in addition to the
regular FSO transmitter. The relay (R) is capable of receiving RF signal and subsequent RF-FSO
conversion. At destination (D), there are two distinct optical receivers present; one for receiving
data via S-D link and another for receiving the data through the relay, i.e. via S-R-D link.

Relay

RF to Optical
Conversion
RF Hop

Data Out

Turbulence
Data In Destination

Source
CSI Feedback

Fig. 1. Dual-hop mixed RF-FSO backup link with source-to-relay RF link and relay-to-destination FSO link.

The channel state information (CSI) about the primary FSO link is sent from D to S via a
feedback path. If the primary FSO link is obscured due to atmospheric turbulence, S switches
from FSO to RF transmission and notify D to switch to the receiver aligned with R. At regular
intervals, S transmits a pilot signal through primary FSO link to gauge the turbulence condition.
If the link quality meets the desired service level, D confirms it by sending a feedback, and the
primary FSO link is re-activated.

2 For a typical urban cellular backhaul application, the relay may be put on rooftops or it can be an unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV) node [2] placed at a suitable position to avoid the turbulence effect near the transmitter, to optimize energy
consumption and to improve quality of service (QoS). Alternatively, the relay node may be just another regular transmitter
with added RF-FSO conversion capability, i.e. all the transmitters can have an additional RF transceiver and an RF to
FSO converter to realize this backup link concept.

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2.1. Modeling the Primary FSO Link

The probability density function (PDF) of the received instantaneous electrical signal to noise ratio
2
(SNR) of the S-D link, ξf so = (ηI) /N0 , follows gamma-gamma distribution [22]
αt +βt
s ! αt +β
2
t −1
 v
u s 
(αt βt ) 2 ξf so u ξf so 
fξf so (ξf so ) = q Kαt −βt 2tαt βt ; ξf so ≥ 0, (1)
Γ(αt )Γ(βt ) ξf so ξ ξ f so ξ f so
f so

2
having an average electrical SNR of ξ f so = η I¯ /N0 , where η is the photo-current conversion
ratio of the receiver, I is the received light intensity, N0 is the one-sided power spectral density of
additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), and the operator (·) ¯ denotes mean value. The coefficients,
αt and βt , are the effective number of small- and large-scale eddies of scattering environment [23],
and together define the scintillation index, SI = 1/αt + 1/βt + 1/(αt βt ), utilized for measuring the
optical intensity variation by atmospheric turbulence. Further, in (1), Γ(·) is the Gamma function
and Kv (·) is the modified Bessel function of second kind of order v.
The cumulative distribution function (CDF) of electrical SNR, Fξf so (ξf so ), is found by using [24,
eq. (8.4.23.1)] and integrating the PDF in (1) as
αt +βt f so
Z ξth " s #
(αt βt ) 2 τ1 −1 2 0 ξf so
Fξf so (ξf so ) = τ1 ξf so G 0 2 αt βt dξf so . (2)
2Γ(αt )Γ(βt )ξ f so 0 ξ f so αt −β
2
t βt −αt
2

where τ1 = (αt + βt )/4. Now, utilizing [25, eq. (26)], the above equation may be expressed as
αt +βt
" s α +β
#
(αt βt ) 2 βt +αt
2 1 ξf so 1− t 2 t
Fξf so (ξf so ) = τ1 ξf so
4
G 1 3 αt βt . (3)
Γ(αt )Γ(βt )ξ f so ξ f so αt −β
2
t βt −αt
2
α +β
− t2 t

2.2. Modeling the Backup RF-FSO Link

During primary link failure, S communicates with D via intermediate relay, R, using the backup
S-R-D link. We have considered an average power scaling (APS) based fixed-gain amplify-and-
forward (AF) type relay, as it is suitable for low budget relay based applications [26].

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx

xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx RF Link xxxxxxx FSO Link xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx Rayleigh Fading xxxxxxx Gamma-Gamma xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx Turbulence xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
xxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxx
Source (S) Relay (R) Destination (D)
(a)

RF Laser Optical
BPF PA
Signal Driver Signal

DC Laser
(b)

Fig. 2. (a) Dual-hop backup RF-FSO link with S-R RF hop and R-D FSO hop. (b) Block diagram of
RF to optical converter implemented at R [14].

The S-R link can be characterized with Rayleigh fading whereas, assuming moderate to strong
atmospheric turbulence, the R-D FSO link perturbations may be described by gamma-gamma
distribution, as demonstrated in Fig. 2. The RF to FSO conversion is realized with a Mach-Zehnder
modulator (MZM). The converter at the relay accepts RF signals from the source antenna and
after conversion, the relay’s optical transmitter sends an optical signal to the photo detector at the
destination node lens.

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IEEE PHOTONICS JOURNAL, Vol. XX, No. X, XXX 2018 BAG et al.: HYBRID FSO USING RF/RF-FSO LINK ADAPTATION

If the instantaneous received electrical SNR for S-R and R-D links are denoted with ξrf and
ξf so , respectively, the equivalent end-to-end instantaneous electrical SNR for an APS-AF relay
is given by ξmix = ξrf ξf so /(gr + ξf so ) [27, eq. (6)], where the relay gain is gr = (1 + 1/N0 ). As
per our model, the S-R link experiences Rayleigh fading and the PDF of immediate SNR can be
expressed as [28]



fξrf (ξrf ) = 1/ξ rf exp −ξrf /ξ rf ; ξrf ≥ 0, (4)

where ξ rf is the average SNR. The PDF of instantaneous electrical SNR of the R-D link follows
gamma-gamma distribution as expressed in (1).
The CDF of end-to-end electrical SNR, Fξmix (ξmix ), is derived by integrating the conditional
density over the whole range of ξf so using [24, eq. (2.24.3.1)], resulting in a closed-form expression
 
−
τ1
G 50 05


Fξmix (ξmix ) = 1 − K1 exp −ξmix /ξ mix ξmix ωξmix , (5)
P

αt +βt τ
(αt βt ) 2 (gr /ξ ) 1 α2 β 2 g
n o
where K1 = 4πΓ(α )Γ(β ) ξ rf τ1 , ω = 16ξt tξ r , P ∈ αt −β t αt −βt +2 βt −αt βt −αt +2
, , 4 , , −τ1 , and
t t ( f so ) rf f so
4 4 4
 
(ap )
m n
Gp q z is the Meijer’s G-function [24, eq. (8.2.1)].
(bq )
Further, differentiating (5) using [24, eq. (8.2.2.30)], the corresponding PDF is obtained as
 
−τ1
τ1 −1 6 0


fξmix (ξmix ) = K1 exp −ξmix /ξ mix ξmix
ωξmix G1 6
1−τ1 , P

−
 (6)

τ1
+ K1 /ξ mix exp −ξmix /ξ mix ξmix G 50 05 ωξmix


.
P

3. Single FSO Threshold Scheme

Quality of the high speed primary FSO link (PL) is estimated by checking the signal level at D
at frequent intervals. When the received signal level falls below a certain threshold, D sends this
feedback to S so that an adaptive algorithm can determine the appropriate transmission path for
further data transmission. Under the single threshold scheme, S automatically switches over to
f so
the RF-FSO secondary link (SL) if SNR falls below a certain fixed FSO threshold, ξth , or falls
into outage if the qualities of either of the RF or FSO link of mixed RF-FSO transmission path
mix
also falls below a certain common threshold, ξth [11].

3.1. Link Switching Operation

The transmission path variable X at time T is selected as per Algorithm 1 described next.

Algorithm 1 Link switching for single FSO threshold

f so
if ξfPso
L
≥ ξth then
XT ← F SO
else
 SL 
mix mix
if ξrf ≥ ξth ∧ ξf so ≥ ξth then
XT ← RF -F SO
else
Transmission suspended / Outage occurred
end if
end if

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3.2. Outage Probability Analysis

An outage occurs when both primary S-D link and secondary S-R-D link are down as the SNRs
do not meet the respective threshold levels. The outage probability is thus
 
(1) f so(P L) f so mix mix


Pout = Pout ξth Pout ξth , (7)

f so(P L) mix
where Pout is the outage probability of the primary FSO S-D link and Pout is the outage
probability of the secondary RF-FSO S-R-D link. The thresholds act as minimum SNR values
above which the links can guarantee a specific QoS.
f so(P L) f so f so
From (3) it is easy to find that Pout (ξth ) = Fξf so (ξth ), i.e.
αt +βt
" α +β
#
  (αt βt ) 2 βt +αt q 1− t 2 t
f so(P L) f so f so 4 2 1 f so
Pout ξth = τ1 ξth G 1 3 αt βt ξth /ξ f so αt −βt βt −αt αt +βt . (8)
Γ(αt )Γ(βt )ξ f so 2 2 − 2

mix mix
Similarly, the outage probability of the secondary RF-FSO link, Pout (ξth ) = Fξmix (ξth ), is
derived from (5) as
 

mix τ1 5 0 −
mix mix mix mix
Pout (ξth ) = 1 − K1 exp −ξth /ξ mix ξth G 0 5 ωξth . (9)
P

0
10

−1
10
Outage Probability

−2
10

fso
−3
Single FSO link at ξth = 5 dB
10 mix
FSO/ RF-FSO link at ξth = 2 dB
mix
FSO/ RF-FSO link at ξth = 5 dB
Simulation
−4
10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Average SNR (in dB)

Fig. 3. Outage probability with single FSO threshold.

In Fig. 3, the numerical values obtained from the expressions developed for the outage proba-
bility are plotted and validated by Monte-Carlo simulations 3 . It may be seen that for an outage
threshold of 5 dB, the outage probability is reduced by an order for an average electrical SNR
of 30 dB, when we replace a single FSO link (blue line with square markers) with the proposed
hybrid FSO/RF-FSO setup (black line with circle markers).

3.3. Average BER Analysis

During non-outage period, any one link can be active at any given instance. Therefore, three
distinct scenarios should be considered for calculating the average BER. Extending the basic
3 Weconsider a fixed set of turbulence parameters, (αt , βt ) = (5.07, 1.53), for the plot. Also, the average SNR per hop
(SL) (P L)
and the threshold SNR values are considered to be identical across all the branches, i.e. ξ̄rf = ξ̄f so = ξ̄mix = ξ̄f so
rf f so(SL)
mix = ξ f so(P L)
and ξth = ξth = ξth th . These system parameters are used throughout for all the subsequent plots
unless otherwise stated.

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formulation presented in [11], the average BER during the non-outage period can be expressed
as
 
f so
B f so ξth rf mix f so(SL)

mix mix
mix

mix mix

(1) Pout ξth B ξth Pout ξth B ξth
BER = (1)
+   +   
 , (10)
f so(P L) f so (1) rf
1 − Pout 1 − Pout ξth 1 − Pout 1 − Pout ξth mix

where B f
so and B mix are the average BER when PL and SL are active, respectively, while
rf mix f so(SL)
Pout ξth and Pout are the outage probabilities of the S-R link and R-D link. The first term
f so
in (10) accounts for the situation when ξfPsoL
> ξth rendering the PL active. The second and third
mix mix
terms denote BER when SL is active and when ξrf < ξth or when ξrf > ξth but ξfSL mix
so < ξth .
If we assume on-off
p keying (OOK) modulation, the conditional error probability is given by
P (e|ξ) = (1/2)erfc ξ/2 . The average BER when primary FSO link is active
  Z ∞  
f so
B f so ξth P e ξfPso L
fξf so ξfPso
L

PL
= dξf so . (11)
f so
ξth

under OOK modulation is thus found by substituting (1) in (11) as

Z ∞  q 
L τ1 −1 2 0 L /ξ P L
  q 
f so
B f so ξth ξfPso
L /2 ξfPso G 0 2 αt βt ξfPso dξfPso
L


= K2 erfc f so αt −βt βt −αt
, (12)
f so
ξth 2 2
h αt +βt  P L τ1 i
where K2 = (αt βt ) / 4Γ (αt ) Γ (βt ) ξ f so
2
. After some mathematical manipulations, we
 
f so f so
may express the integral as, B ξth = I1 −(I2a + I2b ), where (see Appendix A for derivations)
" #
2
K2 · 2τ1 −1 4 2 (αt βt ) 1−τ1 , 1/2−τ1
I1 = G2 5 PL
, (13)
π 3/2 8ξ f so P

∞
" #
f so τ1 X f so α +β
K2 (ξth ) (−ξth /2)k 2 1 1− t 2 t −2k
q
f so P L
I2a = G 1 3 αt βt ξth /ξ f so αt −βt βt −αt αt +βt , (14)
3 k! 2 2 − 2 −2k
k=0

and
∞
" #
f so αt +βt
(−2 ξth /3)k 2 1− −2k
q
f so τ1 f so P L 2
X
1
I2b = K2 (ξth ) G1 3 αt βt ξth /ξ f so . (15)
k! αt −βt
2
βt −αt
2 −
αt +βt
2 −2k
k=0

The average BER when RF-FSO link is active

Z ∞  
mix mix


B ξth = P e ξmix fξmix (ξmix ) dξmix . (16)
mix
ξth

can be expressed as a sum of four individual integrals, B mix ξth mix

= (I3a + I3b ) + (I4a + I4b ),
where (see Appendix B for derivations)
 
 1 −τ1
K1 1 ω −τ 1 −τ 1
I3a = + G 62 16  1 
12 ξ mix 2
ξ mix
+ 12 1−τ1 P
(17)
∞ k  1 k
K1 X (−1)
 
1 1−τ1 −k −τ1
τ1 +k 6 1
− + ξmix G 2 7 ωξmix ,
12 k! ξ mix 2 1−τ1 , P −τ1 −k
k=0
 
 1 −τ1
K1 2 ω −τ1 −τ1
I3b = + G 62 16  1 2 1−τ P

4 ξ mix 3 + 3
1
ξ mix
(18)
∞ k 1 k
K1 X (−1)
   
2 1−τ1 −k −τ1
τ1 +k 6 1
− + ξmix G 2 7 ωξmix ,
4 k! ξ mix 3 1−τ1 , P −τ1 −k
k=0

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 
1
−τ1 −1
K1

1 ω −τ1
I4a = + G 51 15  1 
12ξ mix ξ mix 2
ξ mix
+ 12 P
(19)
∞ k  1 k
K1
 
X (−1) 1 −τ1 −k
τ1 +k+1 5 1
− + ξmix G 1 6 ωξmix ,
12ξ mix k! ξ mix 2 P −τ1 −k−1
k=0

and
 
1
−τ1 −1
K1

2 ω −τ1
I4b = + G 51 15  1 2 P

4ξ mix ξ mix 3 + 3
ξ mix
(20)
∞ k  1 k
K1
 
X (−1) 2 −τ1 −k
τ1 +k+1 5 1
− + ξmix G 1 6 ωξmix .
4ξ mix k! ξ mix 3 P −τ1 −k−1
k=0

rf
We have computed all the terms in (10) except Pout , which, by definition, is

rf
  Z ξth
rf rf (21)
Pout ξth = fξrf (ξrf )dξrf .
0

Placing (4) in (21) and utilizing the lower incomplete gamma function [29, eq. (8.350.1)] and [24,
eq. (8.4.16.1)], we may write
! " #
rf

rf
 ξ rf rf
ξth 1
Pout ξth =γ 1, th = G 11 12 . (22)
ξrf ξrf 1 0

0
10

−1
10
Average BER

−2
10

−3 fso
10 Single FSO link at ξth = 5 dB
mix
FSO/ RF-FSO link at ξth = 2 dB
mix
FSO/ RF-FSO link at ξth = 5 dB
Simulation
−4
10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Average SNR (in dB)

Fig. 4. Average BER with single FSO threshold.

BER performance with single FSO threshold is demonstrated in Fig. 4. The improvement is
clearly visible, for example, at a target BER of 10−2 and for a threshold value of 5 dB, the proposed
setup (black line with square markers) achieves an electrical SNR gain of 15 dB over the single
FSO link (blue line with diamond markers).

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3.4. Average Capacity Analysis

The average capacity of the FSO/RF-FSO system, when at least any one link remain active, can
be computed according to Algorithm 1 as
   
f so f so(P L) f so
C (1) = CfPso L mix


ξth + Pout ξth Cmix ξth
 h
i SL mix
(23)
rf rf f so(SL) mix
+ Pout ξth 1 − Pout ξth Cf so ξth ,
 
f so(P L) f so rf mix f so
are given by (8) and (22), respectively. When ξfPso L


where Pout ξth and Pout ξth > ξth ,
 
f so f so
PL is active, and CfPso L
ξth is the average capacity, whereas, when ξfPso L
< ξth , outage occurs
 
f so(P L) f so mix

mix
at PL with probability Pout ξth , and capacity of the SL is Cmix ξth . If ξrf < ξth , outage
rf
occurs in S-R RF link with outage probability Pout , but still it is possible that the R-D FSO link
remains active; busy in transmitting some stored data in relay node with a capacity CfSL mix


so ξth .
However, we should exclude the case ξfSL < ξ mix
, i.e. when outage occurs in the R-D FSO link,
f so(SL) mix

so th
having a probability of Pout ξth .
The capacity term when PL is active 4 ,
  Z ∞
f so
CfPso
L
log2 1 + ξfPso
L
fξf so ξfPso
L


PL
ξth = dξf so
f so
ξth
(24)
 v 
∞ u PL
K1 u ξf so
Z
PL P L τ1 −1 2 0  dξfPso
L



= ln 1 + ξf so ξf so G 0 2 αt βt t P L ,
ln (2) f so
ξth ξ f so βt −αt βt −αt
2 − 2
 
f so
can be expressed as a difference, CfPso
L
ξth = I5 − I6 , where (see Appendix C for derivations)
h  PL i
I5 = K1 /[2π ln (2)] G 62 16 αt2 βt2 / 16ξ f so |−τ 1 , 1−τ1
P, −τ1 , (25)

and
∞
" #
n+1   αt4βt +n 1− t 2
β +αt
−2n
2K1 X (−1)
q
f so f so P L
I6 = ξth G 21 1
3 αt βt ξth /ξ f so βt −αt . (26)
ln (2) n=1 n! 2
βt −αt
2 −
βt −αt
2 −2n

f so
The term, CfSL mix mix


so ξth , may also be found in a similar way by replacing ξth with ξth in (24).
Furthermore, the average capacity when SL is active,
Z ∞
mix


Cmix ξth = log2 (1 + ξmix ) fξmix (ξmix )dξmix , (27)
mix
ξth

mix


can be expressed as a combination of four individual integrals, Cmix ξth = (C1 − C2 )+(C3 − C4 ),
where (see Appendix D for derivations)
∞ n+1
K1 X (−1)
 
1−n−τ1 −τ1
6 1
C1 = G ωξ , (28)
ln (2) n=1 n ξ mix nτ1 2 6 mix


1−τ1 P

∞ n+1 X∞ k
K1 X (−1)
 
(−1) 1−n−τ1 −k −τ1
mix n+τ1 +k 6 1 mix


C2 = ξth G 2 7 ωξth , (29)
ln (2) n=1 n k! 1−τ1 P −n−τ1 −k
k=0
∞ τ
K1 X
 
(−1) 1 −τ1 −n
5 1
C3 =
(τ1 +n+2) G 1 5 ωξ mix , (30)
ln (2) n=1 n ξ P
mix

4 In strict sense, this capacity expression is valid for coherent FSO systems, but can be used as a bound for intensity
modulation/direct detection (IM/DD) FSO systems if an exponential corrective term [30] is added.

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and
∞ n+1 X∞ k
K1
 
(−1) (−1) −τ1 −n−k
mix τ1 +n+k+1
X
5 1 mix


C4 = ξth G 1 6 ωξth . (31)
ln (2) ξ mix n=1 n k! P −τ1 −n−k−1
k=1

9
fso
Single FSO link at ξth = 5 dB
8 mix
FSO/ RF-FSO link at ξth = 2 dB
mix
FSO/ RF-FSO link at ξth = 5 dB
7

Average Capacity [bits/s/Hz]

mix
FSO/ RF-FSO link at ξth = 10 dB
6 Simulation

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Average SNR (in dB)

Fig. 5. Average capacity with single FSO threshold.

Fig. 5 depicts the average capacity of the system with single FSO threshold. On utilizing the
hybrid scheme, the average capacity of overall system increases, but this improvement occurs
only after some cutoff SNR. The cutoff SNR increases with threshold SNR value.

4. Dual FSO Threshold Scheme

The single FSO threshold scheme presented in the previous section leads to continuous ON/OFF
transitions between the PL and the SL, which can be reduced with dual FSO thresholds. In this
scheme, the FSO PL remains in ON state as long as the SNR of the PL remains above a lower
f so
threshold level, ξth LB
, failing which the PL switches to OFF state and the system switches to the
mix
RF-FSO SL for data transmission provided this link’s SNR is above ξth . The PL is switched back
f so f so f so
to ON state when the SNR exceeds ξthU B , where ξthU B > ξthLB .

4.1. Link Switching Operation

In Algorithm 2, we describe the link switching operation under dual FSO threshold. Similar to
Algorithm 1, XT denotes the transmission path variable at time T . The previous value of the
variable, XT −1 , is the value of the last selection that occurred in the previous switching instant
T − 1. The switching operation of the system is depicted with a state transition diagram in Fig. 6.
f so f so
When ξth UB
= ξth LB
, it is apparent that the system becomes identical to the one described in
previous section. Fig. 7 shows that the switching probability is highest for such a case, and further,
the amount of switching is increases when this common threshold goes up. With dual threshold,
f so f so
the switching probability reduces, and as the gap between ξth LB
and ξth UB
widens (2 dB for blue
circle markers, 3 dB for pink square markers), the switching lowers further as the system gets
sufficient space to swing freely without switching to other link.

4.2. Outage Probability Analysis

f so mix
An outage occurs when PL SNR is below ξth LB
and SL SNR is below ξth . The corresponding
probability can be calculated as
 
h f so(P L)  f so  i
(2) f so(P L) f so f so mix mix mix mix


Pout = PoutDual ξth LB
, ξth UB
P out ξ th = Pout ξ thLB
+ PA PB Pout ξth , (32)

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Algorithm 2 Link switching algorithm for dual FSO threshold

f so f so
if ((XT −1 = F SO) ∧ (ξfPso
L
≥ ξth LB
)) ∨ ((XT −1 = RF -F SO) ∧ (ξfPso
L
≥ ξth UB
)) then
XT ← F SO
else
 SL 
mix mix
if ξrf ≥ ξth ∧ ξf so ≥ ξth then
XT ← RF -F SO
else
Transmission suspended / Outage occurred
end if
end if

f so
If (ξfPso
L
≥ ξth ) mix
LB If (ξmix ≥ ξth )

f so
If (ξfPso
L
≥ ξth UB
)
Secondary
Primary Link
Link
(FSO)
(RF-FSO)
f so )∧
If (ξf so < ξ th
PL
LB
mix ) ∨
Re

ξ
{(ξrf ≥ mthix
-in

(ξSL ≥ ξth )}
itia
If

f so

∧
liz
(ξ f < ξmth

ξ m th ixhU B )
{(

P so

ξ m t so
ati
L
ξ rfL <
(ξ f

)} ∨
ξf
S so

th ix )
< mih )}

(ξ S ξrf so <
ξ th x ) ∨
f s LB

{( (ξf P L
ξ t ix

o )

<
Outage
∧

o <
If

fs L

Fig. 6. State transition diagram with dual FSO threshold.

−1
10
fso fso
ξth LB
= ξth UB
= 5 dB
fso fso
ξth LB
= ξth UB
= 6 dB
fso fso
ξth LB
= 4 dB, ξth UB
= 6 dB
Switching Probability

fso fso
ξth LB
= 3.5 dB, ξth LB
= 6.5 dB

−2
10

−3
10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Average SNR (in dB)

Fig. 7. Switching probability with single and dual FSO threshold.

1
   
f so(P L) f so f so(P L)
where, PoutDual ξth , ξ f so is the probability that outage occurs in PL, PA = Pout f so
ξth −
  LB thU B UB
f so(P L) f so f so f so
Pout ξthLB , is the probability that the FSO link SNR lies between ξthLB and ξthU B , and
  h    i
f so(P L) f so f so(P L) f so f so(P L) f so
PB = Pout ξth LB
/ P out ξ th UB
+ Pout ξ th LB
, is the probability that the FSO

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f so
link SNR previously lied below the lower bound ξth LB
. With the help of above formulation and
using the expressions derived for single FSO threshold scheme, it is straightforward to compute
the outage probability for dual FSO threshold scheme.

0
10

−1

Outage Probability
10

fso fso
ξth LB
= ξth UB
=10 dB
−2
10 fso fso
ξth LB
= 5dB , ξth UB
= 10 dB
fso fso
ξth LB
= ξth UB
= 5 dB
fso fso
ξth LB
= 2 dB , ξth UB
= 5 dB
Simulation
−3
10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Average SNR (in dB)

Fig. 8. Outage probability with single and dual FSO threshold.

In Fig. 8, we compare the outage probability with single and dual FSO threshold. When we
f so f so
set ξth LB
(say 2 dB) below the fixed threshold value (say 5 dB), while keeping ξth UB
at the same
level as that of the fixed threshold (i.e. both at 5 dB), the outage probability reduces (compare
the bottom two plots in Fig. 8). The performance gap is increased (compare the top two plots in
Fig. 8) when the gap between upper and lower threshold increases.

4.3. Average BER Analysis

The expression of average bit error probability with OOK modulation of our considered system
under dual FSO threshold scheme can be expressed as
h    i h  i
f so f so f so(P L) f so
1
   B f so ξth LB
− B f so
ξth UB
1 − P out ξth UB
f so
BER(2) = (2)
B f so ξth +    
UB f so(P L) f so f so(P L) f so
1 − Pout 1 − Pout ξthU B + Pout ξthLB
rf f so(SL)
ξ mix B mix ξth mix mix
B mix ξth mix





P P ξth

+ out thf so(SL) + out
(2)
+ Pout B mix ξth mix


rf
,
mix


mix 1 − Pout ξth


1 − Pout ξth
(33)
(2)
where B f so and B mix are as expressed in (12) and (16), the overall outage probability, Pout ,
f so(P L) f so(SL) rf
is given by (32), while the other outage terms Pout (as well as Pout ) and Pout may be
computed from (8) and (22), respectively.
PL f so
In (33), the first term represents the situation when  ξf so ≥h ξthU B , PL
i is active, and error
f so (2)
probability during non-outage period is given by B f so ξth UB
/ 1 − Pout . Similarly, the second
f so f so f so
term represents the situation, ξth LB
< ξfPso
L
≤ ξth LB
. When ξfPso
L
< ξth LB
, SL becomes active and if
mix (2) mix


{ξrf , ξmix } ≥ ξth , error for the SL would be Pout Bmix ξth , which accounts for the last term in
mix
(33). The third and fourth term of (33), on the other hand, accounts for the cases when ξrf < ξth
mix SL mix
and when ξrf > ξth but ξf so < ξth , respectively.
Fig. 9 demonstrates variation of the average BER against the average electrical SNR with
different combinations of dual FSO thresholds. When compared to the single FSO threshold at
f so f so f so
ξth = 5 dB (blue line), the BER penalty is clearly visible. If ξth UB
= 5 dB and ξth LB
= 2 dB

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1
10
f so
Single FSO link at ξth = 5 dB
f so f so
ξth LB
= 2 dB , ξth UB
= 5 dB
0
10 f so
ξth LB
f so
= 3.5 dB, ξth UB
= 6.5 dB
f so f so
ξth LB
= 4 dB, ξth UB
= 6 dB
f so f so
−1 ξth = ξth = 5 dB

Average BER
LB UB
10
Simulation

−2
10

−3
10

−4
10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Average SNR (in dB)

Fig. 9. Average BER with dual FSO threshold.

(black line with triangular markers), for a target BER of 10−3 , there is an SNR penalty of about
f so f so f so
6 dB. This is because, when ξth LB
< ξth = ξth UB
, the PL remains active due to dual thresholds
instead of switching to a better quality SL which would have happened if there was only a single
threshold. Nevertheless, the system’s BER performance is still improved compared to single FSO
link setup (green line).

4.4. Average Capacity Analysis

Considering the dual FSO threshold scheme, the expression for the average capacity of such a
system can be expressed as
 
f so
C (2) = CfPsoL
ξth UB
 
f so(P L)
 f so

h    i 1 − Pout ξth UB
f so f so
+ CfPso L
ξth − CfPso L
ξth     
LB UB f so(P L) f so f so(P L) f so
1 − Pout ξthU B + Pout ξth LB
(34)
 
f so(P L) f so f so mix


+ Pout ξth UB
, ξth LB
Cmix ξth
rf mix

h f so(SL) mix

i SL mix

+ Pout ξth 1 − Pout ξth Cf so ξth ,
   
f so f so f so f so
where CfPso
L
ξth UB
and Cf
PL
so ξ th LB
can be found from (24) by replacing ξth with ξth UB
and
f so
ξth LB
, respectively, and all other parameters are already mentioned in Section 3.4. The first term
f so
in (34) is for the case, ξfPso L
≥ ξth UB
, when PL is active, while the second term is for the case,
f so f so
ξthLB ≤ ξfPso L
< ξthU B , rendering  PL still to be
 the chosen path for transmission. If outage occurs in
f so(P L) f so f so mix


PL, with probability, Pout ξthLB , ξthU B , SL transmits with capacity Cmix ξth , as reflected
in the third term. Finally, the fourth term accounts for the case
when outage occurs at S-R link
but the R-D link is still operational with a capacity CfSL so ξ mix
th .
As demonstrated in Fig. 10, capacity performance with dual threshold is in general poor (orange/
black line) compared to capacity with single threshold (blue line). The cutoff SNR, over which
the proposed system exhibits higher capacity than single FSO link (green line), is also higher
f so
for dual threshold case. Further, there is negligible effect of difference of thresholds, ξth UB
−
f so
ξthLB , in contrast to outage or BER performances. At high SNR region, however, the behaviour
is asymptotic. This is because at high average SNR, PL remains active most of the time, and the
system seldom switches to SL.

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9
fso
Single FSO link at ξth = 5 dB
8 fso
ξth fso
= ξth = 5 dB
LB UB

fso fso
7 ξth LB
= 4 db , ξth UB
= 6 dB
fso fso
ξth LB
= 3.5 db , ξth UB
= 6.5 dB

Capacity [bits/s/Hz]
6
Simulation

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Average SNR (in dB)

Fig. 10. Average capacity with dual FSO threshold.

5. Conclusion and Future Work

In this paper, we presented a FSO/RF-FSO link adaptation scheme for hybrid FSO systems and
analyzed its performance. First, we consider a single FSO threshold for switching between links
followed by a dual FSO threshold to prevent unnecessary switching. For both the cases, we eval-
uated different performance metrics like outage probability, average BER, and average capacity.
The derived analytical expressions were validated with extensive Monte Carlo simulations. The
overall system performance of our proposed hybrid scheme achieves better reliability than the
conventional single FSO system. In particular, this hybrid FSO/RF-FSO system demonstrated
improved outage and BER performances compared to FSO-only system in all weather conditions.
There are several directions in which the current work may be extended. For example, it would
be interesting to study the effect of pointing error in primary/secondary FSO links and the effect
of outdated CSI in secondary RF link. Another possibility is to consider secondary links with
comparable data rates where the RF link is equipped with massive multiple-input multiple-output
(MIMO) capability to match the data rate of FSO links.

Appendix

A: Derivation of (13) - (15)
f so
Let, B f so ξth = I1 − I2 , where, the first integral,

Z ∞  q 
P L τ1 −1 2 0 L /ξ P L
q 
P L G 0 2 αt βt ξfPso dξfPso
L


I1 = K2 erfc ξf so /2 ξf so f so αt −βt βt −αt
, (35)
0 2 2

may be solved utilizing [24, eq. (8.4.14.2)]

p and [25, eq. (21)] to obtain (13). On the other hand,
with a simple change of variable, x = ξf so /2, the second integral,

f so
Z ξth  q 
L τ1 −1 2 0 L /ξ P L
q 
ξfPso
L /2 ξfPso G 0 2 αt βt ξfPso dξfPso
L (36)


I2 = K2 erfc f so αt −βt βt −αt
,
0 2 2

may be expressed with new limits as

q
f so
Z ξth /2  q 
PL
I2 = K2 2 τ1 +1
x 2τ1 −1
erfc (x) G 20 02 αt βt x 2/ξ f so dx. (37)
αt −βt βt −αt
0 2 2

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1
exp(−x2 ) + 21 exp − 43 x2 , we


Again, using the exponential series expansion of erfc(·), erfc(x) = 6
may write, I2 ≈ I2a + I2b , where
q
f so
Z ξth /2  q 
PL
I2a = (K2 2τ1 /3) exp(−x2 )x2τ1 −1 G 20 0
αt βt x 2/ξ f so dx, (38)
2 αt −βt βt −αt
0 2 2

and
q
f so
ξth /2    
4 2
Z q
PL
I2b = K2 2τ1 exp − x x 2τ1 −1 2 0
G 0 2 αt βt x 2/ξ f so dx. (39)
0 3 αt −βt
2
βt −αt
2

Using [29, eq. (1.211.3)] and [25, eq. (27)] in the above equations, we get the simplified expres-
sions as provided in (14) and (15) from (38) and (39), respectively.

Appendix B: Derivation of (17) - (20)

We begin with breaking the term B mix ξth
mix


into two separate integrals,
Z ∞  
B mix ξth
mix


= P e ξmix fξmix (ξmix ) dξmix = I3 + I4 , (40)
mix
ξth

where
Z ∞ p  
−τ1

τ1 −1
exp −ξmix /ξ mix G 61 06 ωξmix


I3 = (K1 /2) erfc ξmix /2 ξmix dξmix , (41)
mix
ξth 1−τ1 , P

and
Z ∞ p  
−

τ1
exp −ξmix /ξ mix G 50 05 ωξmix


I4 = K1 /(2ξ mix ) erfc ξmix /2 ξmix dξmix . (42)
mix
ξth P

Now, using the same exponential series expansion of erfc(·) as used in Appendix A, we may write
I3 as
Z ∞
 2

2

 τ1 −1
I3 ≈ (K1 /2) (1/6) exp −ξmix /2 + (1/2) exp −4ξmix /3 ξmix
mix
ξth
  (43)

60 −τ1
× exp −ξmix /ξ mix G 1 6 ωξmix dξmix = I3a + I3b ,
1−τ1 , P

where
Z ∞ 
−τ1

τ1 −1
exp −ξmix 1/ξ mix + 1/2 G 61 0


I3a = (K1 /12) ξmix 6 ωξmix dξmix , (44)
mix
ξth 1−τ1 , P

and
Z ∞ 
−τ1

τ1 −1
G 61 06


I3b = (K1 /4) ξmix exp −ξmix 1/ξ mix + 2/3 ωξmix dξmix . (45)
mix
ξth 1−τ1 , P

Now, changing the limit of the above equation and after some mathematical manipulations using
[24, eq. (2.24.3.1)] and [25, eq. (26)], we obtain the solutions given in (17) and (18). Following
the same approach for I4 in (42), we end up with two integrals, i.e. I4 = I4a + I4b , which results
in the expressions as given in (19) and (20), respectively.

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1943-0655 (c) 2018 IEEE. Translations and content mining are permitted for academic research only. Personal use is also permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See
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Appendix C: Derivation of (25) - (26)

f so
The two components of CfPso
L
ξth are I5 and I6 , and the first component

∞
K1
Z  q 
L /ξ P L

τ1 −1
ln 1 + ξfPso
L
ξfPso
L
G 20 0
(αt βt ) ξfPso dξfPso
L


I5 = 2 f so , (46)
ln (2) 0
βt −αt
2 −
βt −αt
2

can be deduced to (25) using [25, eq. (11)] and [24, eq. (2.24.1.1)]. On the other hand, the second
component
f so
ξth
K1
Z  q 
ξfPso
L L τ1 −1
ξfPso G 20 02 L /ξ P L
(αt βt ) ξfPso dξfPso
L (47)



I6 = ln 1 + f so ,
ln (2) 0
βt −αt
2 −
βt −αt
2

P∞
can be expressed as in (26) using the Taylor series expansion [24, eq. (45)], ln (1 + x) = n=1
(−1)n+1 xn /n!.

Appendix D: Derivation of (28) - (31)

P∞ n+1 n
The Taylor series expansion, ln (1 + x) = n=1 (−1) x /n!, can be used to obtain
∞ n+1 Z ∞
K1 X (−1)
   
ξmix −τ1
mix n+τ1 −1
G 61 06 ωξmix


Cmix ξth = ξmix exp − dξmix
ln (2) n=1 n mix
ξth ξ mix 1−τ1 P
∞ n+1 Z ∞
(48)
K1
 
X (−1) n+τ1 ξmix h i
+ ξmix exp − G 50 05 ωξmix dξmix ,
ln (2) ξ mix n=1 n mix
ξth ξ mix P

from (27).
Now, expressing the integral interval as a difference, the above equation can be expressed as
mix


Cmix ξth = (C1 − C2 ) + (C3 − C4 ). The first integral,
∞ n+1 Z ∞
K1 X (−1)
   
ξmix −τ1
n+τ1 −1
C1 = ξmix exp − G 61 06 ωξmix dξmix . (49)
ln (2) n=1 n 0 ξ mix 1−τ1 P

is
Psolved with the help of [39, eq. (2.24.3.1)] to obtain (28). Next, using the series, exp (−ξmix /ξ mix ) =
∞ k
n=1 (−1) (ξmix /ξ mix )k /k! [29, eq. (1.211.3)], the second term,

∞ mix
n+1 Z ξth
K1 X (−1)
   
ξmix −τ1
n+τ1 −1 6 0
C2 = ξmix exp − G 1 6 ωξmix dξmix . (50)
ln (2) n=1 n 0 ξ mix 1−τ1 P

may be resolved into (29). In a similar fashion, the rest of the integrals,
∞ n+1 Z ∞
K1
 
X (−1) n+τ1 ξmix h i
C3 = ξmix exp − G 50 05 ωξmix dξmix , (51)
ln (2) ξ mix n=1 n 0 ξ mix P

and
∞ mix
n+1 Z ξth
K1
 
X (−1) n+τ1 ξmix h i
C4 = ξmix exp − G 50 05 ωξmix dξmix . (52)
ln (2) ξ mix n=1 n 0 ξ mix P

can be simplified to (30) and (31), respectively.

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/JPHOT.2018.2837356, IEEE
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IEEE PHOTONICS JOURNAL, Vol. XX, No. X, XXX 2018 BAG et al.: HYBRID FSO USING RF/RF-FSO LINK ADAPTATION

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