Dynamic Element Allocation for Optical IRS-Assisted Underwater Wireless Communication System

In view of recent developments in underwater wireless technology and the continuous demand for deep ocean exploration, this study investigates the underwater optical wireless communication system. Underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) has several benefits over short-distance wireless connectivity due to its significantly higher bandwidth and data rate compared to acoustic communication. This paper presents an analysis of a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) UWOC system configuration using a submerged optical intelligent reflecting surface (OIRS) that is used to support multiple users by allocating different OIRS elements to various users at the receiver end. To increase the average sum rate and preserve user fairness, techniques based on equal mirror assignment (EMA) and distance-based mirror assignment (DMA) are presented. The outcomes are evaluated against conventional orthogonal multiple access (OMA) and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) schemes for underwater communications.