Capacity Results on Multiple-Input Single-Output Wireless Optical Channels

This paper derives upper and lower bounds on the capacity of the multiple-input single-output free-space optical intensity channel with signal-independent additive Gaussian noise subject to both an average-intensity and a peak-intensity constraint. In the limit where the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) tends to infinity, the asymptotic capacity is specified, while in the limit where the SNR tends to zero, the exact slope of the capacity is also given.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theor

Figure of merit for direct-detection optical channels

The capacity and sensitivity of a direct-detection optical channel are calculated and compared to those of a white Gaussian noise channel. Unlike Gaussian channels in which the receiver performance can be characterized using the noise temperature, the performance of the direct-detection channel depends on both signal and background noise, as well as the ratio of peak to average signal power. Because of the signal-power dependence of the optical channel, actual performance of the channel can be evaluated only by considering both transmit and receive ends of the systems. Given the background noise power and the modulation bandwidth, however, the theoretically optimum receiver sensitivity can be calculated. This optimum receiver sensitivity can be used to define the equivalent receiver noise temperature and calculate the corresponding G/T product. It should be pointed out, however, that the receiver sensitivity is a function of signal power, and care must be taken to avoid deriving erroneous projections of the direct-detection channel performance

Designing Power-Efficient Modulation Formats for Noncoherent Optical Systems

We optimize modulation formats for the additive white Gaussian noise channel with a nonnegative input constraint, also known as the intensity-modulated direct detection channel, with and without confining them to a lattice structure. Our optimization criteria are the average electrical and optical power. The nonnegativity input signal constraint is translated into a conical constraint in signal space, and modulation formats are designed by sphere packing inside this cone. Some remarkably dense packings are found, which yield more power-efficient modulation formats than previously known. For example, at a spectral efficiency of 1 bit/s/Hz, the obtained modulation format offers a 0.86 dB average electrical power gain and 0.43 dB average optical power gain over the previously best known modulation formats to achieve a symbol error rate of 10^-6. This modulation turns out to have a lattice-based structure. At a spectral efficiency of 3/2 bits/s/Hz and to achieve a symbol error rate of 10^-6, the modulation format obtained for optimizing the average electrical power offers a 0.58 dB average electrical power gain over the best lattice-based modulation and 2.55 dB gain over the best previously known format. However, the modulation format optimized for average optical power offers a 0.46 dB average optical power gain over the best lattice-based modulation and 1.35 dB gain over the best previously known format.Comment: Submitted to Globecom 201

Conditions for a Monotonic Channel Capacity

Motivated by results in optical communications, where the performance can degrade dramatically if the transmit power is sufficiently increased, the channel capacity is characterized for various kinds of memoryless vector channels. It is proved that for all static point-to-point channels, the channel capacity is a nondecreasing function of power. As a consequence, maximizing the mutual information over all input distributions with a certain power is for such channels equivalent to maximizing it over the larger set of input distributions with upperbounded power. For interference channels such as optical wavelength-division multiplexing systems, the primary channel capacity is always nondecreasing with power if all interferers transmit with identical distributions as the primary user. Also, if all input distributions in an interference channel are optimized jointly, then the achievable sum-rate capacity is again nondecreasing. The results generalizes to the channel capacity as a function of a wide class of costs, not only power.Comment: This is an updated and expanded version of arXiv:1108.039

Modulation and coding for throughput-efficient optical free-space links

Optical direct-detection systems are currently being considered for some high-speed inter-satellite links, where data-rates of a few hundred megabits per second are evisioned under power and pulsewidth constraints. In this paper we investigate the capacity, cutoff-rate and error-probability performance of uncoded and trellis-coded systems for various modulation schemes and under various throughput and power constraints. Modulation schemes considered are on-off keying (OOK), pulse-position modulation (PPM), overlapping PPM (OPPM) and multi-pulse (combinatorial) PPM (MPPM)

Reliable Communication over Optical Fading Channels

In free space optical communication links,atmospheric turbulence causes random fluctuations in the refractive index of air at optical wavelengths, which in turn cause random fluctuations in the intensity and phase of a propagating optical signal. These intensity fluctuations, termed ``fading,'' can lead to an increase in link error probability, thereby degrading communication performance. Two techniques are suggested to combat the detrimental effects of fading, viz., (a) estimation of channel fade and use of these estimates at the transmitter or receiver; and (b) use of multiple transmitter and receiver elements. In this thesis, we consider several key issues concerning reliable transmission over multiple input multiple output (MIMO) optical fading channels. These include the formulation of a block fading channel model that takes into account the slowly varying nature of optical fade; the determination of channel capacity, viz., the maximum achievable rate of reliable communication, when the receiver has perfect fade information while the transmitter is provided with varying degrees of fade information; characterization of good transmitter power control strategies that achieve capacity; and the capacity in the low and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regimes. We consider a shot-noise limited, intensity modulated direct detection optical fading channel model in which the transmitted signals are subject to peak and average power constraints. The fading occurs in blocks of duration $T_{c}$ (seconds) during each of which the channel fade (or channel state) remains constant, and changes across successive such intervals in an independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) manner. A single-letter characterization of the capacity of this channel is obtained when the receiver is provided with perfect channel state information (CSI) while the transmitter CSI can be imperfect. A two-level signaling scheme (``ON-OFF keying'') with arbitrarily fast intertransition times through each of the transmit apertures is shown to achieve channel capacity. Several interesting properties of the optimum transmission strategies for the transmit apertures are discussed. For the special case of a single input single output (SISO) optical fading channel, the behavior of channel capacity in the high and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regimes is explicitly characterized, and the effects of transmitter CSI on capacity are studied