It is known that the tempting features of free space Non-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) communications systems operating in the Ultraviolet C-band between 200 and 280 nm are the significantly reduced solar irradiance on ground level, the intense scattering and its combination with strong absorption which ensures the covertness against distant eavesdroppers or jammers. In the majority of the experimental surveys that have been published so far, the performance of point-to-point links has been evaluated under clear atmosphere without taking into account the weather conditions. In this work, it is shown that harsh atmospheric conditions due to fog appearance can be advantageous to short distance NLOS transmissions at 265 nm. Initially, the impact of fog on the losses of the diffuse wireless channels was investigated theoretically. Afterwards, an experimental survey of both the losses and the performance of low rate amplitude signals’ transmissions for two atmosphere cases followed. Initially, the satisfactory relation between scattering and absorption at 265 nm was verified by deploying outdoor NLOS point-to-point links under clear atmosphere. The transmitter consisted of 4 Light Emitting Diodes and the optical part of the receiver included a filter and a Photo-Multiplier tube. Then, the beneficial impact of artificially generated fog on scattering was exploited not only to enhance the system performance but also to identify the modification of the conditions. The experimental results showed a clear decrease of both the losses and the Bit Error Rate under fog conditions making such a system a perfect candidate for low rate communications under dense atmosphere.

Date Published: 1 May 2019
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 11019, Situation Awareness in Degraded Environments 2019, 1101908 (1 May 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2519007

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 11019:
Situation Awareness in Degraded Environments 2019
John (Jack) N. Sanders-Reed; Jarvis (Trey) J. Arthur III, Editor(s)