On the Performance Analysis of Decode-and-Forward Multi-Hop Hybrid FSO/RF Systems With Hard-Switching Configuration

In this paper, we introduce a decode-and-forward multi-hop hybrid free-space optical/radio frequency (FSO/RF) system. The FSO link is assumed to follow Gamma-Gamma distribution with the combined effects of pointing errors and path loss under intensity modulation with direct detection technique, and the RF link is assumed to follow Nakagami-m distribution. In particular, we derive closed-form expressions for the outage probability and ergodic capacity and analyze the system performance under the effect of different weather conditions in addition to the effect of pointing errors. The results show that the multi-hop hybrid system improves the performance even under adverse weather conditions and strong pointing errors. Furthermore, Monto Carlo simulations are provided for validation.