The Effect of Air Turbulence on Vortex Beams in Nonlinear Propagation

Abstract

Vortex beams with orthogonality can be widely used in atmospheric applications. We numerically analyzed the statistical regularities of vortex beams propagating through a lens or an axicon with different series of turbulent air phase screens. The simulative results revealed that the distortion of the transverse intensity was sensitive to the location and the structure constant of the turbulence screen. In addition, the axicon can be regarded as a very useful optical device, since it can not only suppress the turbulence but also maintain a stable beam pattern. We further confirmed that a vortex beam with a large topological charge can suppress the influence of air turbulence. Our outcomes are valuable for many applications in the atmospheric air, especially for optical communication and remote sensing.

Long range propagation of optical vortex beams in atmospheric turbulence

“…Results from these studies suggest that the spiral phase structure and the OAM provide vortex beams with additional resilience against complex refraction, such as turbulence and high order aberrations, as well as random particle scattering and absorption. Furthermore, if we treat the conventional Gaussian beam as a vortex beam with topological charge zero, then we can reach a more general conclusion that a higher topological charge normally suggests more resilience to perturbations in the beam path which can be described by multiple metrics including the fluctuation of intensity [13][14][15], transmittance [16], beam wandering [17] and so on. However, metrics regarding the basic shape properties of the beams have not been reported so far.…”

Generation of auto-focusing vortex beam via segment vortex phase for imaging edge-enhancement

“…During propagation, the CAB can initially keep a low-intensity distribution, then abruptly converge to a focal point where the intensity is suddenly enhanced by orders of magnitude [25][26][27][28][29]. In recent years, vortex phase modulation has allowed for the extension of the CABs from single vortex CABs to double or multiple vortex CABs [30][31][32][33][34]. Therefore, combining the CAB and the segmented vortex phase is of great interest to facilitate more flexible control of the auto-focusing characteristics and local vortex of the beam.…”