On the Performance of DF-based Power-Line/Visible-Light Communication Systems

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the performance of an integrated power-line and visible-light communication system with a decode-and-forward relay, deriving analytical expressions and verifying results through simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a new unified mathematical framework for analyzing PLC/VLC systems with relays, focusing on capacity and outage probability metrics.

Findings

Performance decreases with longer end-to-end distance

Higher relay transmit power improves system performance

Outage probability worsens with increased vertical distance to user plane

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive performance analysis of an integrated indoor power line communication (PLC)/visible light communication (VLC) system with the presence of a decode-and-forward (DF) relay. The existing indoor power line networks are used as the backbone for VLCs. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated in terms of the average capacity and the outage probability. A new unified mathematical method is developed for the PLC/VLC system and analytical expressions for the aforementioned performance metrics are derived. Monte Carlo simulations are provided throughout the paper to verify the correctness of the analysis. The results reveal that the performance of the proposed system deteriorates with increasing the end-to-end distance and improves with increasing the relay transmit power. It is also shown that the outage probability of the system under consideration is negatively affected by the vertical distance to user plane.