• ETRI Journal
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.330-336
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• 2018

Free-space optical (FSO) systems have attracted much attention from both research and application perspectives owing to their many benefits, such as license-free operation, low-cost, and high data rates. This paper investigates the ergodic capacity of FSO systems, which is an important metric of system performance. The stochastic temporary laser-beam blockage, pointing errors, and atmospheric turbulence are simultaneously considered. The results illustrate that the link blockage causes a decreased ergodic capacity. We show that to maximize the ergodic capacity, there is an optimal value of the laser-beam radius at the waist, which largely depends on pointing errors; however, it is independent of the atmospheric turbulence and the probability of link blockage.