Outage analysis of a single-threshold hard-switching hybrid FSO/RF system for reliable pico-macrocell backhauling

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Abstract
In the quest for high-speed, reliable and cost-effective backhaul solutions for modern cellular networks, the hybrid free space optical (FSO) and radio frequency (RF) communication system is envisaged to be a promising technology. The hybrid system merges the benefits of both RF and FSO subsystems, delivering high data rates and reliability. The integration of both technologies improves the communication system's performance by addressing the inherent limitations of each. This study proposes a single-threshold hard-switching hybrid FSO/RF system for reliable pico-macrocell backhauling applications. We formulated closed-form expressions for the cumulative density functions (CDFs), probability density functions (PDFs), and outage probability (OP) for RF-only, FSO-only and hybrid FSO/RF links. The rician fading and gamma-gamma (G-G) channel distributions were utilized, respectively. The average received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) determines the switching mechanism based on the defined threshold and atmospheric condition. Simulation results and analysis demonstrated that, at any average SNR above the defined threshold, the hybrid system’s OP outperforms that of the RF-only and FSO-only links under most conditions. The analysis illustrates that employing the hybrid FSO/RF system enhances reliability and boosts overall system performance in pico-macrocell backhauling scenarios, surpassing the performance of standalone FSO-only or RF-only links.

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