Dual-Hop Hybrid Communication for Underwater and Terrestrial Systems: A Study on VLC and RF/FSO/THz Integration

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of dual-hop hybrid communication systems that integrate Visible Light Communication (VLC) for underwater transmission with three different terrestrial communication technologies. Specifically, we compare the performance of VLC with radio frequency (RF), free space optics (FSO), and terahertz (THz) communication in a cooperative framework involving a floating buoy as a relay node. Our results demonstrate that the THz-VLC combination significantly outperforms both the RF-VLC and FSO-VLC configurations in terms of Outage Probability (OP) and overall system efficiency. This work provides valuable insights into optimizing communication pathways in hybrid underwater-terrestrial environments, highlighting the potential of THz technology for enhanced data transmission.