Optimization Models for Misalignment Fading Mitigation in Optical Wireless Links

We consider a free-space optical (FSO) channel model affected by misalignment fading (pointing error) effects. Assuming intensity modulation/direct detection (IM/DD) with on-off keying (OOK), new closed form expressions for the bit-error rate (BER) and the outage probability are presented. Furthermore, four optimization models are formulated and solved taking into account various metrics such as the beamwidth, the electrical signal-to-noise ratio, the normalized jitter, the BER, and the outage probability. The results obtained can be a useful outcome for FSO system designers in order to limit pointing error effects and achieve, thus, an optimum performance.