A Free‐Space Orbital Angular Momentum Multiplexing Communication System Based on a Metasurface. Issue 6 (8th May 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tan, Heyun; Deng, Junhong; Zhao, Ruizhe; Wu, Xiong; Li, Guixin; Huang, Lingling; Liu, Jie; Cai, Xinlun
• Is Part Of: Laser & photonics reviews. Volume 13:Issue 6(2019)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2019-05-08
• Subjects: integrated devices -- metasurfaces -- orbital angular momentum multiplexing -- optical communication; Lasers -- Periodicals; Photonics -- Periodicals; Lasers -- Périodiques; Photonique -- Périodiques; 621.36
• DOI: 10.1002/lpor.201800278
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1863-8880

Abstract

Abstract: Optical vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) have received great attention since the 1990s. In particular, OAM offers an additional degree of freedom, thus, enabling boosting of data transmission capacity in communication systems. One of the major challenges of OAM‐based communication lies in multiplexing OAM via a kind of effective, compact, and flexible approach. Here, a novel approach to achieve the generation and combination of OAM beams by a pre‐engineered reflective metasurface chip is demonstrated. Compared to traditional methods of OAM generation, this approach shows superiorities of broadband operating wavelength, high mode purity, flexible design, and compact size. Moreover, a free‐space OAM multiplexing communication experiment based on the single metasurface is successfully carried out, performing 448 Gbit s −1 data transmission with four different topological charges of OAM and two polarizations by 28‐GBaud QPSK signals. This work experimentally demonstrates promising applications of the metasurface in high‐capacity optical communication systems. Abstract : Light beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) are potentially applicable in optical communication systems to boost the transmission capacity. A high‐performance OAM combiner based on a single metasurface is proposed, designed, and fabricated. The metasurface enables the generation of high‐purity collinear OAM beams in broadband wavelength, which are further applied in the demonstration of an OAM multiplexing communication system.