Performance analysis of 10 Gbps underwater optical wireless communication system using NRZ, duobinary, and AMI modulation under diverse water types
-
Gunasekaran Thangavel
, Ramasamy Ganeshmurthi
, Amsaveni Manigandan , Maralawadi Venkatasubbaiah Kumudavalli and Muthukrishnan Vijaya Maheswari
Abstract
Underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) presents a promising solution for achieving high-speed underwater data transmission. This study investigates the performance of non-return-to-zero (NRZ), duobinary, and alternate mark inversion (AMI) modulation formats at 10 Gbps under diverse aquatic environments including pure sea (PS), clear ocean (CO), coastal ocean (CS), harbor I (HI), and harbor II (HII). Quantitative performance is evaluated in terms of Q factor, bit error rate (BER), and eye diagram analysis with increasing transmission range. For example, in PS water at 50 m, NRZ achieves a Q factor of 6.21 dB and BER of 10−9.6, outperforming duobinary (Q = 4.79 dB, BER = 10−6.8) and AMI (Q = 3.69 dB, BER = 10−3.96). Across all ranges and water types, NRZ consistently provides the best performance, while duobinary offers intermediate results and AMI shows the highest degradation in turbid waters such as harbor I and harbor II. The findings highlight NRZ’s robustness for high-speed UOWC links, particularly in clear waters, and its relative advantage over duobinary and AMI in maintaining reliability over extended distances.
-
Research ethics: Not applicable.
-
Informed consent: Not applicable.
-
Author contributions: Gunasekaran Thangavel: Methodology, Resources, Writing – original draft. R. Ganeshmurthi: Software, Writing – review & editing. Amsaveni Manigandan: Investigation, Data Collection and analysis, Writing – review & editing. M. V. Kumudavalli: Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing. M. Vijaya Maheswari: Project Administration, Writing – review & editing.
-
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
-
Conflict of interest: The authors states no conflict of interest.
-
Research funding: None declared.
-
Data availability: Not applicable.
References
1. Gussen, CM, Diniz, PS, Campos, ML, Martins, WA, Costa, FM, Gois, JN. A survey of underwater wireless communication technologies. J Commun Inf Syst 2016;31:242–55. https://doi.org/10.14209/jcis.2016.22.Search in Google Scholar
2. Abd El-Mottaleb, SA, Singh, M, Atieh, A, Aly, MH. High data rate underwater optical wireless communication systems with ICSM codes within green spectrum. Opt Quant Electron 2025;57:213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-025-08065-8.Search in Google Scholar
3. Zeng, Z, Fu, S, Zhang, H, Dong, Y, Cheng, J. A survey of underwater optical wireless communications. IEEE Commun Surv Tutorials 2016;19:204–38. https://doi.org/10.1109/comst.2016.2618841.Search in Google Scholar
4. Ganesh, PP, Venkataraman, H. RF-based wireless communication for shallow water networks: survey and analysis. Wirel Pers Commun 2021;120:3415–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11277-021-09068-w.Search in Google Scholar
5. Abd El-Mottaleb, SA, Singh, M, Armghan, A, Atieh, A, Aly, MH. Enhanced underwater optical wireless communication using optical code division multiple access with sigma shift matrix code. Opt Commun 2025;574:131204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optcom.2024.131204.Search in Google Scholar
6. Chi, YC, Hsieh, DH, Tsai, CT, Chen, HY, Kuo, HC, Lin, GR. 450-nm GaN laser diode enables high-speed visible light communication with 9-Gbps QAM-OFDM. Opt Express 2015;23:13051–9. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.23.013051.Search in Google Scholar PubMed
7. Abd El-Mottaleb, SA, Singh, M, Atieh, A, Ahmed, HY, Zeghid, M, Nisar, KS, et al.. Performance investigation of UOWC system based on OAM beams for various Jerlov water types. Results Eng 2024;24:102941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2024.102941.Search in Google Scholar
8. Oubei, HM, Li, C, Park, KH, Ng, TK, Alouini, MS, Ooi, BS. 2.3 Gbit/s underwater wireless optical communications using directly modulated 520 nm laser diode. Opt Express 2015;23:20743–8. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.23.020743.Search in Google Scholar
9. Mohamed, AG, Abd El-Mottaleb, SA, Singh, M, Ahmed, HY, Zeghid, M, Abdulkawi, WM, et al.. Chaos fractal digital image encryption transmission in underwater optical wireless communication system. IEEE Access 2024;12:117541–59. https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2024.3446836.Search in Google Scholar
10. Sharma, K, Aggarwal, M, Sabherwal, P. Performance analysis of variable-gain amplify and forward relayed hybrid FSO/VLC communication system. J Opt Commun 2025;46:397–403. https://doi.org/10.1515/joc-2024-0013.Search in Google Scholar
11. Abd El-Mottaleb, SA, Singh, M, Atieh, A, Aly, MH. Performance evaluation of an 80 Gbps dual-polarization orbital-angular-momentum-based underwater optical wireless communication system. Appl Opt 2024;63:5546–55.10.1364/AO.526005Search in Google Scholar
12. Oubei, HM, Duran, JR, Janjua, B, Wang, HY, Tsai, CT, Chi, YC, et al.. 4.8 Gbit/s 16-QAM-OFDM transmission based on compact 450-nm laser for underwater wireless optical communication. Opt Express 2015;23:23302–9. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.23.023302.Search in Google Scholar PubMed
13. Khattar, S, Singh, M, Mottaleb, SA, Atieh, A. A 112 Gbps underwater optical wireless communication link based on dual-polarized-16-QAM signal. In: 2024 Photonics North (PN) 2024:1 p.10.1109/PN62551.2024.10621796Search in Google Scholar
14. Wang, J, Lu, C, Li, S, Xu, Z. 100 m/500 Mbps underwater optical wireless communication using an NRZ-OOK modulated 520 nm laser diode. Opt Express 2019;27:12171–81. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.27.012171.Search in Google Scholar PubMed
15. Singh, M, Armghan, A, Atieh, A, Aly, MH, El-Mottaleb, SA. High speed UOWC system using DP states with FRS-OCDMA code. Opt Quant Electron 2024;56:714. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-024-06455-y.Search in Google Scholar
16. Al-Halafi, A, Oubei, HM, Ooi, BS, Shihada, B. Real-time video transmission over different underwater wireless optical channels using a directly modulated 520 nm laser diode. J Opt Commun Netw 2017;9:826–32. https://doi.org/10.1364/jocn.9.000826.Search in Google Scholar
17. Chaudhari, D, Rajput, S. Mitigating attenuation effects in free-space optics using WDM under variable atmospheric conditions. J Opt Commun 2025;46:389–96. https://doi.org/10.1515/joc-2024-0008.Search in Google Scholar
18. Desai, NS, Rajput, SJ. Exploring FSO link performance in varied atmospheric conditions to optimize 5G communication with a polarized quasi-diffuse transmitter. J Opt Commun 2025;46:433–43. https://doi.org/10.1515/joc-2024-0049.Search in Google Scholar
19. Singh, M, Atieh, A, Anand, G, Aly, MH, Abd El-Mottaleb, SA. Underwater optical wireless communication system based on dual polarization states with optical code division multiple access: performance evaluation. Opt Quant Electron. 2024;56:595, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-023-06192-8.Search in Google Scholar
20. Ferreira, RX, Xie, E, McKendry, JJ, Rajbhandari, S, Chun, H, Faulkner, G, et al.. High bandwidth GaN-based micro-LEDs for multi-Gb/s visible light communications. IEEE Photon Technol Lett 2016;28:2023–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/lpt.2016.2581318.Search in Google Scholar
21. Zaman, Z, Khan, Y, Khan, AM. Minimization of dispersion and non-linear effects in WDM based long-haul high capacity optical communication systems. J Opt Commun 2025;46:457–63. https://doi.org/10.1515/joc-2024-0086.Search in Google Scholar
© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston