Optical Intelligent Reflecting Surface-Assisted Multiple Users over Turbulence Channels

Free-space optical (FSO) communication, with its massive bandwidth, has established a reputation for delivering extremely high-speed connections. The use of an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) in FSO systems is an innovative approach to overcoming the inherent limitations of line-of-sight connectivity. This paper addresses the optical IRS (OIRS)-assisted FSO systems to provide high-speed internet of vehicles (IoV). Notably, the space division multiple access (SDMA) protocol is employed by a single OIRS to support multiple users. Performance metrics, including system outage and average bit error rate (BER), are analytically analyzed, taking into account the combined effects of interference from OIRS regions, pointing errors, and atmospheric turbulence. Numerical results exploit the proper OIRS region to maximize the performance of OIRS-based SDMA FSO systems.