Enhanced underwater optical wireless communication using optical code division multiple access with sigma shift matrix code

A high-speed 40 Gbps Underwater Optical Wireless Communication (UOWC) system exploiting code division multiple access is proposed in this paper. Optical Code Division Multiple Access (OCDMA) systems play a crucial role in enhancing transmission capacity by allowing multiple channels to transmit data simultaneously. In this proposed work, four channels each assigned a distinct Sigma Shift Matrix (SSM) code and modulated with a data at 10 Gbps. Laser Diode (LD) sources operating in the green spectrum are used in UOWC systems due to their low attenuation. To ensure the feasibility of implementing the proposed system in real-world environments, the actual scattering and absorption coefficients from five different types of water are considered: Pure Sea (PS), Clear Ocean (CL), Coastal Sea (CS), Harbor I (HI), and Harbor II (HII). The system's performance is evaluated via the Quality Factor (Q-factor), Bit Error Rate (BER), and eye diagrams opening. The simulation results indicate that in PS water, which exhibits the lowest attenuation, the four channels achieve the longest underwater transmission distance of 48 m, with a Q-factor ≥ 4.1, log(BER) ≤ −4.7, and wide eye openings. Since CL and CS have higher attenuation than PS, they enable shorter transmission distances of 27.5 m and 16 m, respectively, while maintaining nearly the same Q-factor, log(BER), and eye diagrams. Conversely, the highest attenuation observed in HI and HII waterbodies results in the shortest underwater spans of 8.2 m and 5.05 m, respectively. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.