Enhancing of underwater wireless optical communication system based on single photon detector

Abstract This work investigates a simulation model of an underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) system. Several water scenarios are considered: Harbor I (HA-I), Harbor II (HA-II), Coastal Ocean (CO), Clear Ocean (CL), and Pure Sea (PU). A laser diode (LD) with modulation schemes (NRZ-OOK) transmits data at various speeds of 2.5 Gbps, 5 Gbps, and 10 Gbps. To identify the optical signal, a single-photon detection (SPD), APD and PIN photodiodes are utilized. The analytical evaluation of the performance is executed using Q-factor, received power and bit error rate (BER). According to the results, the PU achieved an underwater distance of 35.5 m, 35 m, 34.5 m, for data transmitted 2.5, 5 and 10 Gbps by SPD detector in succession with a Q-factor of 5.4 dB. The APD and PIN photodiodes acquired the distance less than the SPD detector. The APD and PIN photodetectors can detect the received signal under water type PU at 28 m and 23 m, respectively. The comparatively positive outcome indicates that a system utilizing single-photon detection (SPD) and an NRZ-OOK modulation method holds promise for long-distance underwater optical communication with high bandwidth.