Angular momentum, a fundamental physical quantity, can be divided into spin angular momentum (SAM) and orbital angular momentum (OAM) in electromagnetic waves. Helically-phased or twisted light beams ...carrying OAM that exploit the spatial structure physical dimension of electromagnetic waves have benefited wide applications ranging from optical manipulation to quantum information processing. Using the two distinct properties of OAM, i.e., inherent orthogonality and unbounded states in principle, one can develop OAM modulation and OAM multiplexing techniques for twisted optical communications. OAM multiplexing is an alternative space-division multiplexing approach employing an orthogonal mode basis related to the spatial phase structure. In this paper, we review the recent progress in twisted optical communications using OAM in free space and fiber. The basic concept of momentum, angular momentum, SAM, OAM and OAM-carrying twisted optical communications, key techniques and devices of OAM generation/(de)multiplexing/detection, high-capacity spectrally-efficient free-space OAM links, fiber-based OAM links, and OAM processing functions are presented. Ultra-high spectral efficiency and petabit-scale freespace data links are achieved benefiting from OAM multiplexing. The key techniques and challenges of twisted optical communications are also discussed. Twisted optical communications using OAM are compatible with other existing physical dimensions such as frequency/wavelength, amplitude, phase, polarization and time, opening a possible way to facilitate continuous increase of the aggregate transmission capacity and spectral efficiency through
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-dimensional multiplexing.
Data transmission rates in optical communication systems are approaching the limits of conventional multiplexing methods. Orbital angular momentum (OAM) in optical vortex beams offers a new degree of ...freedom and the potential to increase the capacity of free-space optical communication systems, with OAM beams acting as information carriers for OAM division multiplexing (OAM-DM). We demonstrate independent collinear OAM channel generation, transmission and simultaneous detection using Dammann optical vortex gratings (DOVGs). We achieve 80/160 Tbit s -1 capacity with uniform power distributions along all channels, with 1600 individually modulated quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK)/16-QAM data channels multiplexed by 10 OAM states, 80 wavelengths and two polarizations. DOVG-enabled OAM multiplexing technology removes the bottleneck of massive OAM state parallel detection and offers an opportunity to raise optical communication systems capacity to Pbit s -1 level.
Machine learning (ML) has disrupted a wide range of science and engineering disciplines in recent years. ML applications in optical communications and networking are also gaining more attention, ...particularly in the areas of nonlinear transmission systems, optical performance monitoring, and cross-layer network optimizations for software-defined networks. However, the extent to which ML techniques can benefit optical communications and networking is not clear and this is partly due to an insufficient understanding of the nature of ML concepts. This paper aims to describe the mathematical foundations of basic ML techniques from communication theory and signal processing perspectives, which in turn will shed light on the types of problems in optical communications and networking that naturally warrant ML use. This will be followed by an overview of ongoing ML research in optical communications and networking with a focus on physical layer issues.
Driven primarily by cloud service and data-center applications, short-reach optical communication has become a key market segment and growing research area in recent years. Short-reach systems are ...characterized by direct detection-based receiver configurations and other low-cost and small form factor components that induce transmission impairments unforeseen in their coherent counterparts. Innovative signaling and digital signal processing (DSP) play a pivotal role in enabling these components to realize their ultimate potentials and meet data rate requirements in cost-effective manners. This paper presents an overview of recent DSP developments for short-reach communications systems and discusses future trends.
Microresonator frequency combs harness the nonlinear Kerr effect in an integrated optical cavity to generate a multitude of phase-locked frequency lines. The line spacing can reach values in the ...order of 100 GHz, making it an attractive multi-wavelength light source for applications in fiber-optic communications. Depending on the dispersion of the microresonator, different physical dynamics have been observed. A recently discovered comb state corresponds to the formation of mode-locked dark pulses in a normal-dispersion microcavity. Such dark-pulse combs are particularly compelling for advanced coherent communications since they display unusually high power-conversion efficiency. Here, we report the first coherent-transmission experiments using 64-quadrature amplitude modulation encoded onto the frequency lines of a dark-pulse comb. The high conversion efficiency of the comb enables transmitted optical signal-to-noise ratios above 33 dB, while maintaining a laser pump power level compatible with state-of-the-art hybrid silicon lasers.
The outstanding phase‐noise performance of optical frequency combs has led to a revolution in optical synthesis and metrology, covering a myriad of applications, from molecular spectroscopy to laser ...ranging and optical communications. However, the ideal characteristics of an optical frequency comb are application dependent. In this review, the different techniques for the generation and processing of high‐repetition‐rate (>10 GHz) optical frequency combs with technologies compatible with optical communication equipment are covered. Particular emphasis is put on the benefits and prospects of this technology in the general field of radio‐frequency photonics, including applications in high‐performance microwave photonic filtering, ultra‐broadband coherent communications, and radio‐frequency arbitrary waveform generation.
The outstanding phase‐noise performance of optical frequency combs has led to a revolution in optical synthesis and metrology. In this review, the techniques for the generation and processing of high‐repetition‐rate (>10 GHz) optical frequency combs with technologies compatible with optical communication equipment are covered. Particular emphasis is put on the benefits and prospects of this technology in the general field of radio‐frequency photonics, including applications in high‐performance microwave photonic filtering, ultra‐broadband coherent communications, and radio‐frequency arbitrary waveform generation.
This paper reviews optical injection locking (OIL) of semiconductor lasers and its application in optical communications and signal processing. Despite complex OIL dynamics, we attempt to explain the ...operational principle and main features of the OIL in an intuitive way, aiming at a wide understanding of the OIL phenomenon and its associated techniques in the optic and photonic communities. We review and compare different control techniques that enable robust OIL in practical systems. The applications are reviewed with a focus on new developments in the past decade, under the categories of `High Speed Directly Modulated Lasers' and `Optical Carrier Recovery'. Finally, we draw our vision for future research directions.
There is a continuing growth in the demand for data bandwidth, and the multiplexing of multiple independent data streams has the potential to provide the needed data capacity. One technique uses the ...spatial domain of an electromagnetic (EM) wave, and space division multiplexing (SDM) has become increasingly important for increased transmission capacity and spectral efficiency of a communication system. A subset of SDM is mode division multiplexing (MDM), in which multiple orthogonal beams each on a different mode can be multiplexed. A potential modal basis set to achieve MDM is to use orbital angular momentum (OAM) of EM waves. In such a system, multiple OAM beams each carrying an independent data stream are multiplexed at the transmitter, propagate through a common medium and are demultiplexed at the receiver. As a result, the total capacity and spectral efficiency of the communication system can be multiplied by a factor equal to the number of transmitted OAM modes. Over the past few years, progress has been made in understanding the advantages and limitations of using multiplexed OAM beams for communication systems. In this review paper, we highlight recent advances in the use of OAM multiplexing for high-capacity free-space optical and millimetre-wave communications. We discuss different technical challenges (e.g. atmospheric turbulence and crosstalk) as well as potential techniques to mitigate such degrading effects.
This article is part of the themed issue ‘Optical orbital angular momentum’.
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