Bit error rate performance analysis of SIMO-UWOC systems in fading environments

In the marine turbulence fading environment, a hybrid fading channel model was considered, which included the effects of generalized Gamma distribution (GGD) marine turbulence, zero-mean axis pointing errors, and path loss. Using the Meijer-G function, the average bit error rate for a single-input multiple-output (SIMO) underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) system employing selection combining (SC) was derived. Finally, the accuracy of the derived expression was validated through Monte Carlo simulations. The results show that the performance of SC in the SIMO system outperforms that of the SISO system. Additionally, for the same average bit error rate, the transmission distance of the SIMO system is also superior to that of the SISO system.