Lavery, M. P.J. (2018) Vortex instability in turbulent free-space propagation. New Journal of Physics, 20, 043023. (doi: 10.1088/1367-2630/aaae9e)
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Abstract
The spatial structuring of optical fields is integral within many next generation optical metrology and communication techniques. A verifiable physical model of the propagation of these optical fields in a turbulent environment is important for developing effective mitigation techniques for the modal degradation that occurs in a free-space link. We present a method to simulate this modal degradation that agrees with recently reported experimental findings. A 1.5 km free-space link is emulated by decomposing the optical turbulence that accumulates over a long distance link, into many, weakly perturbing steps of 10 m. This simulation shows that the high-order vortex at the centre of the helical phase profiles in modes that carry orbital angular momentum of $| {\ell }| \geqslant 2{\hslash }$ are unstable and fracture into many vortices when they propagate over the link. This splitting presents issues for the application of turbulence mitigation techniques. The usefulness of pre-correction, post-correction, and complex field conjugation techniques are discussed.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Lavery, Professor Martin |
| Authors: | Lavery, M. P.J. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering |
| Journal Name: | New Journal of Physics |
| Publisher: | Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd. |
| ISSN: | 1367-2630 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1367-2630 |
| Published Online: | 13 April 2018 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2018 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in New Journal of Physics 20:043023 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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