Link Availability of Satellite-to-ground Free-space Optical Communication Systems in South Korea

Abstract

We analyze the link availability of satellite-to-ground free-space optical (FSO) communication systems in South Korea. Using ten-year meteorological data for five major cities (Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, and Gwangju), we theoretically predict the link availability from the power losses induced by absorption, scattering, aerosols, and scintillation in the atmospheric channel. For accurate but conservative estimation of the link availability determined by cloud cover, we propose a loss model based on the maximum value of cloud droplet concentration. The results show that the link availability ranges from 45% to 70% when a single ground station is placed in a major city in South Korea and a 20-dB link budget is allocated for atmospheric loss. However, the availabilities improve to 90% and 97% when 3-and 5-site diversities are employed, respectively.