Joint user and relay selection for relay-aided RF/FSO systems over Exponentiated Weibull fading channels

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the performance of joint user and relay selection scheme for a multi-user relayed network over mixed radio-frequency (RF) and free space optical (FSO) system. In this set-up, the non line-of-sight (NLOS) RF link is modeled with Rayleigh fading whereas the LOS FSO path is modeled with Exponentiated Weibull (EW) distribution. We assume that the multiple users at source terminal communicate with the destination over multiple decode and forward relays which are located at the rooftops of the buildings to provide a perfect LOS path. In the proposed scheme, all users send pilot signals to the destination through relay terminals and the latter jointly selects the best user and relay based on the maximization of the end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To quantify the performance of the proposed scheme, closed form outage and error probability are derived. Moreover, asymptotic analysis is performed to obtain important system parameters including fading severity, number of users and relays in the system. Finally, Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations are carried out the verify the performance of the considered scheme.