Asymmetric RF/FSO Relaying with HPA non-Linearities and Feedback Delay Constraints

Abstract: In this work, we investigate the performance of a dual-hop multiple relays system consisting of mixed Radio-Frequency (RF)/Free Space Optical (FSO) channels. The RF channels are subject to Rayleigh fading while the optical links experience the Double Generalized Gamma including atmospheric turbulence, path loss and the misalignment between the transmitter and the receiver aperture (also known as the pointing error). The FSO model also takes into account the receiver detection technique which could be either heterodyne or intensity modulation and direct detection. Partial Relay Selection with outdated Channel State Information is assumed based on the RF channels to select a relay and we also consider fixed and variable Amplify-and-Forward relaying schemes. In addition, we assume that the relays are affected by the high power amplifier non-linearities and herein we discuss two power amplifiers called Soft Envelope Limiter and Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier. Furthermore, novel closed-forms and tight upper bounds of the outage probability, the bit error probability, and the ergodic capacity are derived. Capitalizing on these performance, we derive the high SNR asymptotic to get engineering insights about the system gains such as the diversity and the coding gains. Finally, the mathematical expressions are validated using the Monte Carlo simulation.