Characterization and Performance Analysis of Underwater Optical Time and Frequency Dissemination Link Based on Monte Carlo Simulation and Experimental Demonstration

Abstract

Underwater Wireless Optical Communication (UWOC) plays a crucial role in marine exploration and observation due to its high speed and low latency characteristics, while research on underwater time and frequency transfer (UTFT) is relatively lacking. The complicated underwater environments, absorption and scattering effects severely degrade signal stability and signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). In response to this issue, a photon packet transmission model is established based on the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The effects of different parameters, including water conditions, divergence angles, receiving apertures, are systematically analyzed, with key indicators such as phase noise and Allan deviation, identified as performance measures. An experimental platform is also built using kaolin turbidity to obtain experimental results corresponding to different frequencies and turbidity levels, which are then compared with simulation results. The high consistency between simulation and experimental results verifies the reliability of the proposed model. This research provides a feasible method for performance prediction and tolerance design of UTFT networks.