Performance Analysis of Hybrid Free-Space Optical and Radio Frequency Communication Systems
Summary
Hybrid FSO/RF systems integrate optical laser links and conventional radio connections to exploit the high-capacity, low-latency attributes of free-space optics alongside the resilience of radio-frequency channels. By deploying a primary FSO path for data transmission and a secondary RF link as a backup, these systems maintain uninterrupted connectivity under adverse atmospheric conditions such as fog, rain or beam scintillation. Performance analysis typically centres on metrics such as outage probability, bit error rate and achievable capacity, often under dual-hop or multi-hop relaying architectures with adaptive switching or combining schemes. Complementary behaviours of FSO and RF channels, modelled through distributions like gamma–gamma for optical turbulence and Rayleigh or Nakagami for radio fading, enable diversity gains and improved reliability. Practical implementations span terrestrial backhaul networks for next-generation cellular systems, satellite and high-altitude platform communications, and secure optical links in urban and remote environments.
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Performance Analysis of Hybrid Free-Space Optical and Radio Frequency Communication Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in performance analysis of hybrid free-space optical and radio frequency communication systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Free-Space Optical (FSO) Communication: Data transmission using unguided laser beams through the atmosphere.
Radio Frequency (RF) Communication: Wireless transmission over radio wave spectra, providing resilience under optical outages.
Outage Probability: Likelihood that a communication link’s signal falls below a threshold required for reliable reception.
Bit Error Rate (BER): Proportion of bits received erroneously over a given link.
High-Altitude Platform Station (HAPS): A stratospheric relay station used to extend or enhance communication links.
Adaptive Combining: A scheme that dynamically merges signals from multiple links to optimise quality and continuity.
Gamma–Gamma Fading: A statistical model describing optical channel fluctuations due to atmospheric turbulence.
References
- Adaptive-Combining-Based Hybrid FSO/RF Satellite Communication With and Without HAPS. IEEE Access (2021).
- On the Design of Rate Adaptation for Relay-Assisted Satellite Hybrid FSO/RF Systems. IEEE Photonics Journal (2021).
- A Survey of Hybrid Free Space Optics (FSO) Communication Networks to Achieve 5G Connectivity for Backhauling. Entropy (2022).
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