Fritchman modeling for correlated turbulence-induced errors in FSO communication

Free-space-optics-based communication links are an attractive potential solution for solving the last mile challenge but suffer from turbulence-induced fading. This fading causes errors in the received signal. While models exist to predict how turbulence affects the signal, these models often do not account for the channel's memory. Typical fading models accurately predict the average effect of the channel on a signal but not the distribution of the errors and the individual lengths of events such as deep fades. To better model the channel, this paper presents an alternative approach: Fritchman Markov modeling. The models produced accurately match the behavior of the channel and can be used to develop robust and efficient error mitigation strategies in the future.