Influence of atmospheric turbulence on optical communications using orbital angular momentum for encoding

Malik, M., O’Sullivan, M., Rodenburg, B., Mirhosseini, M., Leach, J., Lavery, M.P.J., Padgett, M.J. and Boyd, R.W. (2012) Influence of atmospheric turbulence on optical communications using orbital angular momentum for encoding. Optics Express, 20(12), p. 13195. (doi: 10.1364/OE.20.013195)

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Publisher's URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.20.013195

Abstract

We describe an experimental implementation of a free-space 11-dimensional communication system using orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes. This system has a maximum measured OAM channel capacity of 2.12 bits/photon. The effects of Kolmogorov thin-phase turbulence on the OAM channel capacity are quantified. We find that increasing the turbulence leads to a degradation of the channel capacity. We are able to mitigate the effects of turbulence by increasing the spacing between detected OAM modes. This study has implications for high-dimensional quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. We describe the sort of QKD system that could be built using our current technology.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Lavery, Professor Martin and Padgett, Professor Miles
Authors: Malik, M., O’Sullivan, M., Rodenburg, B., Mirhosseini, M., Leach, J., Lavery, M.P.J., Padgett, M.J., and Boyd, R.W.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy
Journal Name:Optics Express
Publisher:Optical Society of America
ISSN:1094-4087
ISSN (Online):1094-4087
Published Online:25 May 2012
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2012 The Optical Society of America
First Published:First published in Optics Express 20(12):13195
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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