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International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, and Data Analytics (ICoABCD)

Capacity Analysis on Free Space Optics (FSO) for Classical and Quantum Communications

Nicola Akmal Afrinaldi, Khoirul Anwar, Dick Maryopi

Published Nov 13, 2023• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis on capacity of free space optics (FSO) for classical and quantum communications, since FSO is one of enabler technologies for the sixth generation (6G) of telecommunication, of which the understanding on the differences between classical and quantum channel capacity becomes critical to support the future development. The classical channel models, assuming the effects of atmospheric turbulence in the irradiance distribution, is analyzed both computationally and analytically through closed-form expressions. On the other hands, quantum channel models are analyzed by taking into account the probability of errors caused by turbulence. This paper reveals that the turbulence significantly degrades the capacity of the classical channel compared to the quantum channel; however the degrades in quantum channel is less extreme. Remarkably, none of the quantum channel models experience a drastic drop to zero capacity, where 4 out of 6 models are consistently maintaining non-zero capacity performances.

DOI
10.1109/icoabcd59879.2023.10390970

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This paper presents a comprehensive analysis on capacity of free space optics (FSO) for classical and quantum communications, since FSO is one of enabler technologies for the sixth generation (6G) of telecommunication, of which the understanding on the differences between classical and quantum channel capacity becomes critical to support the future development. The classical channel models, assuming the effects of atmospheric turbulence in the irradiance distribution, is analyzed both computationally and analytically through closed-form expressions. On the other hands, quantum channel models are analyzed by taking into account the probability of errors caused by turbulence. This paper reveals that the turbulence significantly degrades the capacity of the classical channel compared to the quantum channel; however the degrades in quantum channel is less extreme. Remarkably, none of the quantum channel models experience a drastic drop to zero capacity, where 4 out of 6 models are consistently maintaining non-zero capacity performances.
We study the channel capacity for orbital angular momentum (OAM) based quantum free-space optical communications. Inspired by recent demonstrations for OAM-based single-photon communication, we construct the quantum density operator in matrix form, based on OAM eigenkets, and determine the quantum channel model suitable for study of the quantum communication over atmospheric turbulence channels. The quantum channel model is derived from OAM eigenkets transition probabilities. By using this model we determine the OAM quantum channel capacity in the presence of atmospheric turbulence. The proposed quantum channel model is of high importance for future study of quantum error correction coding to extend the transmission distance and data rate of free-space quantum communications.
We devoted to analyzing information transfer in quantum channels in terms of the performance of quantum key distribution (QKD) free-space optical (FSO) communication systems through Bennett and Brassard 84 (BB84) protocol by taking into account the combined effect of attenuation, turbulence, pointing error, and angle of arrival (AOA) fluctuations. Path loss is modeled by Beer-Lambert law, and the turbulent channel is assumed to be Fisher-Snedecor F distributed. The pointing error and AOA fluctuations are modeled by Hoyt and Rayleigh distributions, respectively. The error and sift probabilities, quantum bit error rate, and secret key rate of a QKD FSO system are obtained in analytical form, and results are presented depending on various parameters. It is shown that increased beam waist, beam deviation, AOA fluctuations, and propagation distance cause performance degradation and less secure information transmission. However, an increase in the ratio of horizontal and vertical beam misalignments, field of view, average photon number per pulse, visibility of the atmospheric environment, and optical beam wavelength impact the performance of QKD FSO systems positively. The effect of the turbulence structure constant is observed to be modest on the performance of the QKD FSO system.
This paper investigates the performance of coherent-state quantum optical wireless communication systems operating over atmospheric turbulence channels with pointing errors (PEs). The average error probability (AEP) and average achievable rate (AAR) are analyzed for on–off keying (OOK) and binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) signaling under photon-counting (PC), homodyne, and optimal Helstrom detection. The proposed framework jointly incorporates deterministic path loss, atmospheric turbulence, and PEs, and accommodates multiple statistical channel models, including Gamma-Gamma (GG), doubly inverted Gamma-Gamma (IGGG), and Fisher-Snedecor FFF distributions, within a unified analytical formulation. Closed-form expressions for AEP and AAR are derived via direct probability density function (PDF)-based integration of the conditional error probability, along with high-photon-number asymptotic approximations that provide insight into performance scaling behavior. Numerical results validate the analytical expressions and demonstrate the impact of PEs on system performance. The analysis further enables systematic comparison between classical and optimal quantum detection schemes and quantifies the achievable performance gains under different channel conditions. These results provide useful design insights for modulation and receiver selection in turbulent free-space optical (FSO) communication systems.
In this letter, we analyze the average probability of error of quantum modulation schemes in weakly turbulent quantum communication channels utilizing coherent states. Atmospheric turbulence-induced fading is a significant challenge that degrades the performance of free-space quantum communication systems. We derive and present closed-form expressions for the average probability of error for various detection methods: classical (shot-noise limited) single-photon detection, coherent detection, and the optimal quantum hypothesis-testing (Helstrom) detection for binary quantum modulation schemes. Our analysis focuses on the transmission of classical data modulated by quantum coherent states over a log-normal turbulent channel. Additionally, we discuss the lower bounds of the average capacities for Helstrom detection, providing comprehensive insights into the achievable information rates in realistic atmospheric conditions. The derived expressions show excellent agreement with numerical Monte Carlo simulations across a broad range of average transmitted photon numbers, offering valuable guidelines for the design and optimization of quantum communication systems.
One of the most rapidly developing communication technologies is quantum communication. Quantum Free-Space Optical Communication (FSO) provides unlimited bandwidth for data transmission. A key barrier to FSO links is associated with the losses caused by atmospheric absorption and scattering of molecules and aerosols. In the present study, we analyze the performance of a free-space classical link for 650 nm, 785 nm, 850 nm and 1550 nm wavelengths for a link range of 0.5 Km and 50 Km. The losses due to atmospheric components such as rain, fog, snow and turbulence are predicted for different wavelengths. Also, we presented similar analysis for free space quantum link using difference frequency generation(DFG) method for both short range (0.5 Km) and long-range link (50 Km) under diverse weather conditions. It is done by combining weak wavelengths of 650 nm, 785 nm, 850 nm and 1550 nm, along with a tunable pump LASER (Krypton) to generate IR B waves (1400 nm - 3000 nm). The total atmospheric losses with DFG is compared with the losses generated without using DFG.
With the continued development of optical wireless communications, the security performance of free space optical (FSO) communications is the most crucial aspect that should receive significant attention. Despite the fact that FSO communications are considered more secure than radio frequency systems, their link performance degrades due to some environmental factors such as atmospheric turbulence, fog, and non-zero boresight pointing errors. The combined effect of these factors on the secrecy performance of FSO communication systems over the generalized Malaga- M fading channel is investigated in this paper. This work assumes a more realistic eavesdropping scenario in which both legitimate and unauthorized receivers are located on the same receiving plane. Secrecy outage probability and strictly positive secrecy capacity are expressed in exact closed-form expressions in this work. The results show that the FSO system has acceptable secrecy performance in moderate and light fog, with potential reach distances ranging from hundreds of meters to a few kilometers. Monte-Carlo simulations are used to verify the numerical results.