Single-Layer Phase Screen With Pointing Errors for Free Space Optical Communication

Single-layer phase screen is a classical, simple and accurate approach for simulating the optical field under turbulence, and it is generally used in free space optical communication (FSOC). However, conventional single-layer phase screen studies have rarely considered the pointing errors from FSOC, which prevents the theoretical results for mobile FSOC from being verified using simulated optical fields. This work establishes a simulation method for the single-layer phase screen with pointing errors. Statistics on simulated optical field with pointing errors indicated that the previous theoretical results for the long-term average irradiance and irradiance fluctuation probability density function (PDF) for mobile FSOC can be modified to better fit the simulation results. In addition, the received power fluctuation PDF, average bit-error-rate (BER), and the influence of non-zero mean pointing errors are investigated through the simulated optical field with pointing errors. The proposed simulation method provides a powerful approach for understanding and evaluating the comprehensive influences of atmospheric turbulence and pointing errors on the FSOC.