Comparison of Integrated and Independent RF/FSO Transceivers on a Fading Optical Channel

Hybrid radio-frequency (RF) and free-space optical (FSO) transceivers harvest the high data rates possible with FSO while also maintaining a reliable link when clouds, fog, or dust interfere with the FSO channel. This paper compares two possible transceiver architectures: 1) an integrated RF/FSO modem with joint physical layer processing and 2) independent RF and FSO modems with separate physical layer processing assuming an intelligent router that multiplexes data to the two modems based on their time-varying throughput capabilities. While both architectures provide throughput benefits over a standalone FSO modem, the architecture featuring two independent modems demonstrates superior reliability under optical fading.