Huamin Yang

Changes in orbital-angular-momentum modes of a propagated vortex Gaussian beam through weak-to-strong atmospheric turbulence

The radial average-power distribution and normalized average power of orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) modes in a vortex Gaussian beam after passing through weak-to-strong atmospheric turbulence are theoretically formulated. Based on numerical calculations, the role of the intrinsic mode index, initial beam radius and turbulence strength in OAM-mode variations of a propagated vortex Gaussian beam is explored, and the validity of the pure-phase-perturbation approximation employed in existing theoretical studies is examined. Comparison between turbulence-induced OAM-mode scrambling of vortex Gaussian beams and that of either Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams or pure vortex beams has been made. Analysis shows that the normalized average power of OAM modes changes with increasing receiver-aperture size until it approaches a nearly stable value. For a receiver-aperture size of practical interest, OAM-mode scrambling is severer with a larger mode index or smaller initial beam radius besides stronger turbulence. Under moderate-to-strong turbulence condition, for two symmetrically-neighboring extrinsic OAM modes, the normalized average power of the one with an index closer to zero may be greater than that of the other one. The validity of the pure-phase-perturbation approximation is determined by the intrinsic mode index, initial beam radius and turbulence strength. It makes sense to jointly control the amplitude and phase of a fundamental Gaussian beam for producing an OAM-carrying beam.

Optimization criterion for initial coherence degree of lasers in free-space optical links through atmospheric turbulence

Partially coherent beams can be used to reduce the turbulence-induced scintillation; however, the partial coherence induces the decrease of the mean received irradiance. An optimization criterion for the initial coherence degree of lasers is proposed. This criterion maximizes the received irradiance that occurs with the highest probability. A method for adaptive initial coherence was given to use the criterion in practical applications.

Temporal broadening of optical pulses propagating through non-Kolmogorov turbulence

General formulations of the temporal averaged pulse intensity for optical pulses propagating through either non-Kolmogorov or Kolmogorov turbulence are deduced under the strong fluctuation conditions and the narrow-band assumption. Based on these formulations, an analytical formula for the turbulence-induced temporal half-width of spherical-wave Gaussian (SWG) pulses is derived, and the single-point, two-frequency mutual coherence function (MCF) of collimated Gaussian-beam waves in atmospheric turbulence is formulated analytically, by which the temporal averaged pulse intensity of collimated space-time Gaussian (CSTG) pulses can be calculated numerically. Calculation results show that the temporal broadening of both SWG and CSTG pulses in atmospheric turbulence depends heavily on the general spectral index of the spatial power spectrum of refractive-index fluctuations, and the temporal broadening of SWG pulses can be used to approximate that of CSTG pulses on the axis with the same turbulence parameters and propagation distances. It is also illustrated by numerical calculations that the variation in the turbulence-induced temporal half-width of CSTG pulses with the radial distance is really tiny.

Characterization of temporal pulse broadening for horizontal propagation in strong anisotropic atmospheric turbulence

The on-axis two-frequency mutual coherence function (MCF) for beam waves propagating along a horizontal path in strong anisotropic atmospheric turbulence is theoretically formulated by making use of the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle. Based on this formulation, a new closed-form expression for the mean square temporal width of Gaussian-beam-wave pulses passing horizontally through strong anisotropic atmospheric turbulence is developed. With the help of this expression, the increments of mean square temporal pulse width due to strong anisotropic atmospheric turbulence under various conditions are further calculated. Results show that the increment of mean square temporal pulse width due to strong anisotropic atmospheric turbulence is basically proportional to the effective anisotropic factor in most situations of interest, with the possible exception of cases in which both the Fresnel ratio and spectral index become relatively small; increasing the effective anisotropic factor can reduce the number of the said exceptions; the turbulence-induced increment of mean square temporal pulse width enlarges as the spectral index increases with a fixed value of the nondimensional turbulence-strength parameter. It is also illustrated that a significant enlargement in the turbulence-induced increment of mean square temporal pulse width occurs by changing the Fresnel ratio from a large to a tiny value if both the effective anisotropic factor and spectral index are relatively small.

Characterizing the radial content of orbital-angular-momentum photonic states impaired by weak-to-strong atmospheric turbulence.

The changes in the radial content of orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) photonic states described by Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) modes with a radial index of zero, suffering from turbulence-induced distortions, are explored by numerical simulations. For a single-photon field with a given LG mode propagating through weak-to-strong atmospheric turbulence, both the average LG and OAM mode densities are dependent only on two nondimensional parameters, i.e., the Fresnel ratio and coherence-width-to-beam-radius (CWBR) ratio. It is found that atmospheric turbulence causes the radially-adjacent-mode mixing, besides the azimuthally-adjacent-mode mixing, in the propagated photonic states; the former is relatively slighter than the latter. With the same Fresnel ratio, the probabilities that a photon can be found in the zero-index radial mode of intended OAM states in terms of the relative turbulence strength behave very similarly; a smaller Fresnel ratio leads to a slower decrease in the probabilities as the relative turbulence strength increases. A photon can be found in various radial modes with approximately equal probability when the relative turbulence strength turns great enough. The use of a single-mode fiber in OAM measurements can result in photon loss and hence alter the observed transition probability between various OAM states. The bit error probability in OAM-based free-space optical communication systems that transmit photonic modes belonging to the same orthogonal LG basis may depend on what digit is sent.

Temporal spectrum of beam wander for Gaussian Shell-model beams propagating in atmospheric turbulence with finite outer scale

The temporal spectrum of beam wander is formulated by considering a Gaussian Schell-model beam passing through atmospheric turbulence with a finite outer scale. Two simpler asymptotic formulas for the temporal spectrum of beam wander within the high- and low-frequency ranges are derived, respectively. Based on the formulations, the effects of the initial partial coherence of the beam, finite outer scale of turbulence, initial beam radius, and initial phase front radius of curvature on the temporal spectrum of beam wander are analyzed by numerical examples.

Effects of source spatial partial coherence on temporal fade statistics of irradiance flux in free-space optical links through atmospheric turbulence

The temporal covariance function of irradiance-flux fluctua-tions for Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beams propagating in atmospheric turbulence is theoretically formulated by making use of the method of effective beam parameters. Based on this formulation, new expressions for the root-mean-square (RMS) bandwidth of the irradiance-flux temporal spectrum due to GSM beams passing through atmospheric turbulence are derived. With the help of these expressions, the temporal fade statistics of the irradiance flux in free-space optical (FSO) communication systems, using spatially partially coherent sources, impaired by atmospheric turbulence are further calculated. Results show that with a given receiver aperture size, the use of a spatially partially coherent source can reduce both the fractional fade time and average fade duration of the received light signal; however, when atmospheric turbulence grows strong, the reduction in the fractional fade time becomes insignificant for both large and small receiver apertures and in the average fade duration turns inconsiderable for small receiver apertures. It is also illustrated that if the receiver aperture size is fixed, changing the transverse correlation length of the source from a larger value to a smaller one can reduce the average fade frequency of the received light signal only when a threshold parameter in decibels greater than the critical threshold level is specified.

Second-order statistics of Gaussian Schell-model pulsed beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence

Novel analytical expressions for the cross-spectral density function of a Gaussian Schell-model pulsed (GSMP) beam propagating through atmospheric turbulence are derived. Based on the cross-spectral density function, the average spectral density and the spectral degree of coherence of a GSMP beam in atmospheric turbulence are in turn examined. The dependence of the spectral degree of coherence on the turbulence strength measured by the atmospheric spatial coherence length is calculated numerically and analyzed in depth. The results obtained are useful for applications involving spatially and spectrally partially coherent pulsed beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence.

Mitigation of Turbulence-Induced Scintillation Noise in Free-Space Optical Communication Links Using Kalman Filter

Atmospheric turbulence causes fluctuation of the received light signal in free-space optical (FSO) communication links through atmosphere, impairing link performance. The propagation of light wave in atmospheric turbulence was studied, and the received signal was modeled. Then the optimum decision threshold model was derived for FSO communication links using intensity modulation with direct detection (IM/DD). The turbulence-induced signal fluctuation, i.e. scintillation noise, was modeled as multiplicative noise in the received signal. In order to mitigate the scintillation noise, an adaptive Kalman filter was used to predict the value of received signal and turbulence statistics. Based on the Kalman filter, the detection with adaptive decision threshold was realized. Finally, the performance of Kalman filter was calculated, and the results show the error between optimum decision threshold and adaptive decision threshold is smaller than 0.48%. Kalman filter is an effective tool to combat turbulence-induced scintillation noise.

Coupling plane wave received by an annular aperture into a single-mode fiber in the presence of atmospheric turbulence.

The efficiency of coupling a plane wave into a single-mode fiber can be reduced by both the aperture obstruction of receivers and the turbulence-induced degradation of optical coherence. Using the Gaussian approximation to the mutual coherence function of the incident optical field, we derived an analytical solution for the fiber-coupling efficiency when a plane wave, propagating through atmospheric turbulence, is received by an annular-aperture receiver and coupled into a single-mode fiber. It is a function of the coupling geometry, the aperture-radius-to-coherence-radius ratio (ARCRR), and the aperture-obstruction parameter. It is found by the numerical optimization method that the optimal coupling geometry depends on both the ARCRR and the aperture-obstruction parameter. The results obtained are useful for analyzing and designing a fiber-coupling system influenced by atmospheric turbulence.