Computational Analysis of an Optimized 32 channel 320 Gbps DWDM Hybrid Free Space/ Fiber Optic Communication System with Cascaded Dispersion Compensating Fiber

In the current trend of Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G based communication networks, Free Space Optical (FSO) Communication endorses high speed bit rate 5G communication as well as offers reliable massive scale connectivity in IoT networks. In practical scenarios, a fiber optic cable link at the receiver end is often required leading to a hybrid FSO/ Fiber Optic (FSO/FO) network. The possibility and advantages of inclusion of Dispersion Compensating Fiber (DCF) in the connecting fiber link to the receiver unit in Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) based hybrid FSO/FO networks has been explored in this work. With optimized parameter values for dual FSO channels and DCF used in Optisystem software, for clear weather, the maximum link ranges have been found as 34 Km and 8 Km without and with Misalignment Losses (ML) respectively. The corresponding values for Hazy weather were obtained as 10.5 Km without ML and 6.2 Km considering ML attenuation. Maximum Quality factors (Q factor) of around 7.5 and 6.5 were obtained for both clear and hazy weather scenarios respectively. The performance of the developed hybrid FSO/FO network was found to be superior in terms of link range than existing architecture.