Orbital‐Angular‐Momentum‐Mediated Information Extraction From Dynamic Scattering

Abstract Intelligent information extraction from a speckled optical field drastically enhances the quality metrics of conventional communication, imaging, and remote sensing systems. Additionally, by leveraging the information mapping into a multitude of orbital‐angular‐momentum (OAM) modes, one can expect a substantial capacity boost in the optical signal transmission through complex environments. However, most of the currently known techniques of this kind are conceptually restricted to the static scattering mechanism. Here, the possibility of transmitting information in a dynamic scattering scenario is investigsted via the intensity cross‐correlation of pairs of the OAM‐dependent speckles. It is theoretically predicted and experimentally confirmed that the intensity cross‐correlation between synchronized OAM‐dependent speckles with distinct OAM indices is immune to the dynamic scattering process, a finding that can be used as a robust mitigation tool against random media. The pair‐OAM mode sorting is then demonstrated under the dynamic scattering regime without any prior knowledge of the scattering process. The results can significantly expand the application scope of the OAM‐mediated information transfer in the presence of complex environments that still constitutes a persistent challenge for traditional optical technologies.