Influence of MPPC Parameters on the Performance of Underwater Optical Links

Abstract

Multi-pixel photon-counters (MPPCs) are interesting alternatives to photo-multiplier tubes for use in underwater wireless optical communication systems to allow extending the link range. We show the influence of different MPPC parameters on the link performance while considering multiple sub-carrier modulation based on the well-known DC-biased optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing in order to considerably increase the data ate of such links. Meanwhile, we discuss the effect of signal clipping on the link performance due to the limited dynamic range of the emitting device.