Photo detection techniques for free space optical communication under dusty weather environment: a comparative study of SPD, APD and PIN

Abstract The Optical signal propagating through free space with the speed of light is significantly impacted by the suspended dust particles present in the environment which degrades the performance of the Free-Space-Optical Communication link by reducing the quality of the received signal at the destination. In this study, a detailed comparison has been done considering the optical power received, Quality factor, and Bit Error Rate (BER) of three photodetectors i.e., Single-Photon-Detector (SPD), Avalanche-Photo-Diode (APD), and Positive-Intrinsic-Negative (PIN) photodetector. A model for simulation has been designed utilizing OptiSystem 21 to achieve significant results. For the achievable value of Q-factor around 6 and BER of the order 10 −9 , the maximum realisable link length using SPD was 0.141 km for dense dust, 0.771 km for moderate dust, 5.2 km for blowing dust, and 17 km for dust haze which is the best among the rest. Also, the received optical power for SPD, APD, and PIN photodetectors were −31.234 dBm, −25.285 dBm, and −20.886 dBm respectively. The findings indicate that the SPD is suitable for long-haul communication in dusty environments, outperforming APD and PIN photodetectors.