Selection Combining over Log-Logistic Fading Channels with Applications to Underwater Optical Wireless Communications

Abstract: We study the performance of a selection combining (SC) receiver operating over independent but non-identically distributed log-logistic ($\mathcal{LL})$ fading channels. We first characterize the statistics of the output instantaneous signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the SC receiver. Based on the SNR statistics, we derive exact analytical expressions, in terms of multivariate Fox H-functions, for the outage probability, the average bit error rate, and the ergodic capacity. We also derive exact expressions for such performance measures when all channels are independent and identically distributed, as a special case. Furthermore, we deduce simplified asymptotic expressions for these performance metrics assuming high values of average transmit SNR. To demonstrate the applicability of our theoretical analysis, we study the performance of an SC receiver in underwater optical wireless communication systems. Finally, we confirm the correctness of the derived analytical results using Monte Carlo Simulations.