On the Performance of MIMO FSO Communications over Double Generalized Gamma Fading Channels

Abstract: A major performance degrading factor in free space optical communication (FSO) systems is atmospheric turbulence. Spatial diversity techniques provide a promising approach to mitigate turbulence-induced fading. In this paper, we study the error rate performance of FSO links with spatial diversity over atmospheric turbulence channels described by the Double Generalized Gamma distribution which is a new generic statistical model covering all turbulence conditions. We assume intensity modulation/direct detection with on-off keying and present the BER performance of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input single-output (MISO) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) FSO systems over this new channel model.