Review on Long-distance Underwater Wireless Optical Communication

Abstract

More and more underwater vehicles and sensor networks are deployed as humans increase their efforts to explore and develop the ocean. Traditional underwater cables cannot adapt to the communication between mobile nodes, and underwater acoustic communication cannot meet the increasing demand for data transmission. Underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) has great advantages in short-distance high-speed underwater communication application scenarios because of its advantages such as high speed, low latency, low power consumption, and good confidentiality. However, due to the large attenuation, the limited transmission distance of light in the water has been restricting the development and application of UWOC. This review summarizes the methods and technical paths for extending the distance of UWOC, which can provide some inspiration for those engaged in this research field.