Performance analysis of wireless optical link with RIS aided and the implications of using Gaussian Q-function

Abstract

This paper is concerned performance analysis of a wireless optical link with reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) aided and the implications of using the Gaussian Q-function. The Gaussian Q-function plays a critical role in the performance analysis of communication systems, particularly in scenarios involving noise and fading, including optical links and those aided by technologies like RISs. The analytical expression for performance is derived from the average of the symbol error rate (ASER) conditioned on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), incorporating the effects of noise and fading. Depending on the modulation scheme and fading model, the specific expressions for ASER can vary. The Gaussian Q-function significantly impacts the performance of systems; its mathematical properties and relationships with RISs and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) provide essential insights into system behavior under various conditions. The upper and lower bounds are commonly used to approximate the Gaussian Q-function, since the Gaussian Q-function doesn’t have a closed-form solution, bounds and approximations are often used.