A mixed multi-user underwater acoustic communication/free space optical (MU-UAC/FSO) air-to-sea heterogeneous relaying system is analyzed in this work, where multiple UAC channels aggregate into a FSO channel to obtain maximum capacity. The UAC channels experience κ-μ shadowed fading and the FSO channel obeys double generalized Gamma fading with the non-zero boresight pointing error. Utilizing the amplify-and-forward protocol, we obtain the approximate statistical distribution of the end-to-end signal-to-noise radio. The expressions of the outage probability (OP), average bit error rate (BER), and average channel capacity (ACC) are derived. Moreover, asymptotic expressions of the OP and average BER are obtained. Relying on the asymptotic results, our findings emphasize that the diversity gain of the MU-UAC/FSO relaying system is determined as the number of users, fading parameters of the UAC and FSO channels, pointing error parameters, and detection types. The results can be simplified to the single-user case. It is shown that the multi-user scheme provides significant diversity gain compared to the single-user scheme. Furthermore, considering the characteristics of UAC channels, such as the Doppler effect, we investigate the performance of a MU-UAC/FSO relaying system in time-varying scenarios.

In this paper, we study the performance of a cooperative underwater acoustic communication/free-space optical communication (UAC-FSO) transmission system supported by a fixed-gain amplify-and-forward (AF) relay, where an underwater source transmits signals to a satellite through the help of a buoy functioning as a relay located on the sea surface. In particular,Kand κ - μ shadowed fading distribution models are used to characterize the UAC link, while the FSO channel follows a unified Málaga distribution existing pointing errors. Based on the above considerations, we calculate the cumulative distribution function (CDF) and probability density function (PDF) of the end-to-end (e2e) signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To assess the system performance, expressions for the outage probability (OP) and average bit-error rate (BER) are further obtained in closed-form. Furthermore, driven by a desire for more explicit insights, the high SNR analyses of the OP and average BER, and upper and lower bounds on the average capacity are presented. Finally, through Monte Carlo simulations, the correctness of the theoretical analysis is verified.

In this article, the performance of a dual-hop relaying terahertz (THz) wireless communication system is investigated. In particular, the behaviors of the two THz hops are determined by three factors, such as the deterministic path loss, fading effects, and pointing errors. Assuming that both THz links are subject to the$\alpha $-$\mu $fading with pointing errors, we derive exact expressions for the cumulative distribution function (CDF) and probability density function (PDF) of the end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). With these statistical expressions, some important performance metrics are evaluated, such as the outage probability (OP), average bit error rate (BER), and average channel capacity (ACC). Moreover, the asymptotic analyses are presented to obtain more insights. The results show that the dual-hop relaying scheme has better performance than the single THz link. Furthermore, the system diversity order depends on the fading parameters and pointing errors of both THz links. In addition, we extend the analysis to a multirelay cooperative diversity system and derive the asymptotic symbol error rate (SER) expressions. Finally, the derived analytical expressions are verified by the Monte Carlo simulation.

In this article, we analyze the performance of a mixed dual-hop power line communication/free-space optical communication (PLC-FSO) transmission system supporting both decode-and-forward (DF) and fixed-gain amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying protocols. Further, it is assumed that the PLC link experiences log-normal fading under the effects of additive background and impulsive noise, while the free-space optical (FSO) channel obeys an exponentiated Weibull distribution with pointing errors. On this basis, we derive the probability density function (PDF) and cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the end-to-end (e2e) signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To evaluate the system performance, the closed-form expressions for the outage probability (OP) and average bit-error rate (BER) are derived. Additionally, to gain more insights, the asymptotic analysis of OP and average BER, and the upper bound of the average capacity are presented.

In this paper, the performance of a mixed Terahertz/free-space optical (THz/FSO) wireless transmission system is studied, where the joint effects of channel fading and pointing errors are considered for both THz and FSO links. Employing the semi-blind amplify-and-forward protocol, we derive the cumulative distribution function and probability density function of the end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio. By applying the derived statistics, exact expressions for the outage probability (OP), average bit error rate (BER), and average channel capacity are obtained. In order to attain useful physical insights, asymptotic OP and average BER expressions are also presented. Based on them, the diversity gain is determined, which is shown to depend on channel fading and pointing errors of both links. In addition, by taking into account the hardware impairments, the OP of the non-ideal hardware system is derived. Moreover, the analysis is extended to multi-antenna scenarios and the asymptotic OP is obtained. Finally, illustrative numerical results are plotted and it can be observed that the path loss, channel fading, pointing errors and hardware impairments lead to a considerable degradation in system performance.

In this paper, we investigate the performance of a mixed radio-frequency-underwater wireless optical communication (RF-UWOC) system where an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), as a low-altitude mobile aerial base station, transmits information to an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) through a fixed-gain amplify-and-forward (AF) or decode-and-forward (DF) relay. The analysis accounts for the main factors that affect the system performance, such as the UAV height, air bubbles, temperature gradient, water salinity variations, detection techniques, and pointing errors. Employing the fixed-gain AF and DF relays, expressions for some key performance metrics are derived, e.g., outage probability (OP), average bit error rate (ABER), and average channel capacity. Moreover, in order to get further insights, asymptotic analyses for the OP and ABER are also carried out. Additionally, for the two relaying systems, we derive analytical expressions for the optimal UAV altitude that minimizes the OP. Simulation results show that the UAV altitude influences the system performance and there is an optimal altitude which ensures a minimum OP. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the diversity order of the fixed-gain AF relaying depends on the RF link and pointing errors, while the diversity order of the DF relaying depends on the detection techniques and pointing errors.