Adaptive water-air-water data information transfer using orbital angular momentum

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Underwater Communications
• Wireless Communication Technologies

Background:

• Underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) offers higher data rates than acoustic methods for monitoring and military uses.
• Twisted light, carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM), is increasingly used in optical communications.
• OAM-based UWOC between underwater and aerial users remains an underexplored but promising area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate adaptive data transfer using OAM between water and air.
• To address and mitigate misalignment-induced signal degradation caused by water level fluctuations.
• To establish a foundation for OAM-based UWOC systems for underwater and aerial applications.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a water-air-water communication link utilizing twisted light with OAM.
• Development of a feedback mechanism based on received intensity distribution.
• Adaptive adjustment of a reflection element to compensate for water level changes and misalignment.

Main Results:

• Successful experimental demonstration of adaptive water-air-water data transfer using OAM.
• Effective mitigation of misalignment-induced degradation through feedback-assisted adjustments.
• Favorable performance metrics indicating the viability of the proposed system.

Conclusions:

• The feedback-assisted approach enables robust data transfer in dynamic water-air environments.
• OAM-based UWOC presents a viable solution for high-data-rate underwater and aerial communication.
• This work paves the way for advanced underwater optical communication systems.