Orbital Angular Momentum Waves Research Articles

Multipath Characteristics of Orbital Angular Momentum Vortex Electromagnetic Radio Waves Over an Infinite Ground Plane

In this paper, the effect of an infinitely sized ground plane on the orbital angular momentum (OAM) vortex electromagnetic (EM) radio waves is investigated. Although the effect of an infinite ground on OAM wave propagation and communication has already been numerically examined in the literature using the method of moments (MoM), this situation needs to be examined analytically and theoretically derived final form expressions need to be obtained. The multipath characteristics of OAM waves in a superconducting ground plane are theoretically presented considering both horizontal and vertical polarization conditions. In addition to direct radiation to an observation point in the far-field from the array antenna, many reflected radiations from the ground plane are also transmitted. The most fundamental reflected radiation is analyzed over a uniform circular array (UCA), adopting electromagnetic image theory. Furthermore, the transmitted field expressions obtained by considering both the circular array parallel to the ground plane and the circular array upright to the ground plane are formulated in a general analytical form for an OAM wave on a superconducting ground plane. In addition, numerical simulations are applied to exemplify the properties of OAM waves in the superconducting ground plane, unlike the isolated medium.

The Design of a Multifunctional Coding Transmitarray with Independent Manipulation of the Polarization States.

Manipulating orthogonally polarized waves independently in a single metasurface is pivotal. However, independently controlling the phase shifts of orthogonally polarized waves is difficult, especially in the same frequency bands. Here, we propose a receiver-phase shift-transmitter transmitarray with independent control of arbitrary polarization states in the same frequency bands, in which transmission rates reach more than 90% in the frequency bands 4.2~4.9 GHz and 5.3~5.5 GHz. By introducing a phase-regulation structure to each element, phases covering 360° for different polarized incident waves can be independently controlled by different geometric parameters, and two-bit coding phases can be obtained. The design principle based on the two-port network's scattering matrix has been analyzed. To verify the independent tuning abilities of the proposed transmitarray for different polarization incidences in the same frequency bands, a multifunctional receive-phase shift-radiation coding transmitarray (RPRCT), which is composed of 16×16 elements, with functions of anomalous refraction (for example, orbital angular momentum wave) and focusing transmission for different polarized incident waves was simulated and measured. The measured results agree reasonably well with the simulated ones. Our findings provide a simple method for obtaining a multifunctional metasurface with orthogonal polarization in the same frequency bands, which greatly improves the capacity and spectral efficiency of communication channels.

2 × 2 MIMO dual spiral octagonal prism liquid DRA with snake-shaped DGS for OAM multiplexing.

In this paper, we proposed a 2 × 2 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) dual spiral octagonal prism liquid dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) with snake-shaped defective ground structure (DGS) for space multiplexing of orbital angular momentum (OAM). The DRA element adopts an inner and outer nested dual spiral structure filled with 0.035 g/ml of brine outside and a cylinder filled with distilled water inside. The proposed MIMO antenna can generate resonance at 1.78-3.02 GHz and 4.01-7.73 GHz (S11≤-10 dB). The isolation among ports is below -20 dB at 2.6 GHz and below -40 dB at 5.1 GHz, which can effectively isolate the l = ±1 and l = ±3 modes' OAM waves through the snake-shaped DGS. The proposed MIMO antenna improves spectral efficiency by OAM spatial multiplexing with l = ±1 and l = ±3 modes' OAM, which improves the data transmission efficiency. The proposed MIMO antenna provides a novel, to the best of our knowledge, solution for wireless communications to improve spectral efficiency.

Terahertz vortex beam generation based on reflective and transmissive graphene metasurfaces

Graphene metasurfaces have substantial potential for generating vortex electromagnetic waves carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) at terahertz frequencies. In this paper, a deformed H-shaped graphene unit cell is utilized to design a half-space reflective metasurface (with a metal backplane, operating in the reflection mode) and a full-space metasurface (operating in both the reflection and transmission modes) to generate OAM beams. The two structures are intertransformable at the level of physical composition, where one configuration enables efficient anomalous reflection of electromagnetic waves within the 4.6–8.9 THz band, while the other enables uniform modulation efficiency of reflective and transmissive waves within the 5.5–7.0 THz band. Equivalent circuit models have been provided to establish a convenient closed-form mathematical description of the metasurface’s electromagnetic behavior. By performing the near- and far-field simulations, a series of THz vortex generators based on the proposed graphene metasurface are demonstrated. In particular, high-purity reflective and transmissive OAM waves with distinct topological charges are observed. Our study provides a path towards the practical realization of active THz OAM metadevices.

Multiplexed manipulation of orbital angular momentum and wavelength in metasurfaces based on arbitrary complex-amplitude control

Due to its unbounded and orthogonal modes, the orbital angular momentum (OAM) is regarded as a key optical degree of freedom (DoF) for future information processing with ultra-high capacity and speed. Although the manipulation of OAM based on metasurfaces has brought about great achievements in various fields, such manipulation currently remains at single-DoF level, which means the multiplexed manipulation of OAM with other optical DoFs is still lacking, greatly hampering the application of OAM beams and advancement of metasurfaces. In order to overcome this challenge, we propose the idea of multiplexed coherent pixel (MCP) for metasurfaces. This approach enables the manipulation of arbitrary complex-amplitude under incident lights of both plane and OAM waves, on the basis of which we have realized the multiplexed DoF control of OAM and wavelength. As a result, the MCP method expands the types of incident lights which can be simultaneously responded by metasurfaces, enriches the information processing capability of metasurfaces, and creates applications of information encryption and OAM demultiplexer. Our findings not only provide means for the design of high-security and high-capacity metasurfaces, but also raise the control and application level of OAM, offering great potential for multifunctional nanophotonic devices in the future.

Frequency-adjustable OAM antenna with co-divergent beams for IoT applications

A frequency-tunable Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM)-generating antenna array system is introduced for the first time to provide high-data-rate and secure communication for Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructures and devices. Propagation of simultaneous OAM modes brings about the high-data-rate and frequency tunability leads to interference suppression for secure communication. Regarding the design evolution of the proposed structure, the novel Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna consisting of two input ports creates a 2 × 2 UCA, resulting in two 2 × 2 sub-UCA. Feeding each 2 × 2 sub-array with [0°, 90°, 180°, 270°] phase gradients in clockwise and counterclockwise states gives rise to dual-mode OAM-carrying waves with simultaneous excitation capability. It should be mentioned that each MIMO element owns frequency tunability, resulting in a frequency-adjustable dual-mode OAM antenna array. A prototypes of the suggested MIMO antenna as well as the OAM array are fabricated and measured. Changing the applied DC-voltage to the varactor diodes embedded in capacitive stubs of the antenna elements shifts the operating frequency in the MIMO antenna and consequently in the OAM array. Concerning the unique radiation characteristics of the OAM antenna, vortex beams having helical phase fronts are observed, confirming the generation of expected OAM waves. Therefore, it is asserted that the introduced structure, for the first time, proposes new features of frequency-tunability, and co-divergent simultaneous OAM propagation using the MIMO-UCA technique to provide high-data-rate and secure communication in IoT applications.

High resolution imaging of acoustic orbital angular momentum wave based on orthogonal matching tracking

The orbital angular momentum (OAM) wave has shown great potential for improving radar imaging and underwater communication performance due to its helical wavefront phase and infinite orthogonal modes. However, there are currently no known applications of this technology in underwater imaging. In this paper, we employed acoustic OAM wave for underwater imaging and established transceiver signal models using the uniform circular array. We concurrently achieved two-dimensional imaging of azimuth and elevation angles, which differs from radar imaging. We proposed a matching process for the echo signal in the modal domain, the OAM wave beam image's sidelobe decreased by 7.9 dB in the elevation direction and 6.1 dB in the azimuth direction compared to the plane wave, with the mainlobe decreased by 0.2° in the elevation direction and 0.4° in the azimuth direction. Furthermore, this paper introduced OAM wave high-resolution image reconstruction based on the orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) algorithm. Finally, we implemented broadband acoustic OAM wave for underwater imaging and introduced an image reconstruction method based on the modal domain OMP algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that the use of OAM wave in underwater imaging is feasible, and the proposed scheme can achieve high-resolution imaging.

High efficiency holographic impedance metasurface for dual circular polarized OAM waves

AbstractThis paper proposes a high aperture efficiency (AE) small size tensor holographic impedance metasurface (THIMS), which has the ability to create circular polarized (CP) high purity orbital angular momentum (OAM) multi‐beams with flexibly independent control of the individual beam direction, polarization and OAM mode. The tensor unit cell is a cross‐slotted circular patch. We design a THIMS at 14.6 GHz for dual CP OAM beams: Beam‐I (LHCP, l = 1, θ1 = 30°, φ1 = 0°), Beam‐II (RHCP, l = −1, θ2 = 30°, φ2 = 180°). The developed tensor dual CP THIMS has the following advantages: high purity in xoy plane at z = 9.73 λ (λ wavelength, measured purity 88.4% for Beam‐I, and 93.5% for Beam‐II), high AE 25.1%, and small size 5.986 λ × 5.986 λ × 0.0618 λ. The calculated, simulated and measured results agree well. The generated dual CP OAM beams have potential applications for high‐capacity wireless communication, radar high resolution imaging, and rotation velocity measurement.

Quantitative Microwave Imaging of High-contrast Targets with the Incidence of Orbital Angular Momentum Wave

Quantitative Microwave Imaging of High-contrast Targets with the Incidence of Orbital Angular Momentum Wave

High Purity Orbital Angular Momentum Modes Reconfiguration Using Uniform Circular Array Antenna to Enhance Channel Capacity and Spectral Efficiency

Technology based on OAM (orbital angular momentum) has great potential for enhancing the bandwidth efficiency of telecommunication systems. Although OAM waves are orthogonal, it is possible to multiplex various modes within a single frequency channel. Significantly, the overall spectrum efficiency, as well as channel capacity, can be improved. Multiple users can share the same frequency channel by using orthogonal modes, which eliminates the requirement for extra resources like time and frequency. This research uses MATLAB code to derive a uniform circular array (UCA) antenna factor under the cylindrical coordinate system. This factor is used to illustrate the array antenna's electric field to generate OAM waves or radio waves that carry the OAM mode. OAM modes can be reconfigured for the no. of UCA elements (N) needed to generate a ripple-free radiation pattern based on the UCA antenna factor. Additionally, the significance of UCA radius and observational distance (the field plane-UCA plane gap) on the phase distribution and radiation pattern from OAM mode 1 to 5 is graphically evaluated and optimized. The MATLAB simulations compute the electric field phase distribution pattern (EFPDP) and normalized radiation pattern (NRP) at 76 GHz. The method predicts the peak, side lobes, and comparable radiation patterns of the radiation pattern, offering an effective means of optimizing OAM modes and analysing trade-offs.

Demultiplexing of 40 acoustic orbital angular momentum wavelength-division multiplexing (OAM-WDM) channels by an improved virtual rotating receiver method

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing/demultiplexing technology is crucial in increasing the data transmission rate for acoustic communication. However, the existing acoustic OAM multiplexing/demultiplexing is still limited to eight channels, and its combination with other communication techniques has not been verified experimentally. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the demultiplexing of up to 40 data channels using OAM multiplexing combined with wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM). The proposed demultiplexing method is improved from the virtual rotating receiver method used to detect the rotational Doppler effect of the OAM waves by a static array of microphones. The improved method has overcome the challenges of insufficient response, cross-talk, and signal aliasing, which often hinder the existing demultiplexing methods in the low-frequency region. The proposed demultiplexing method can be used to quickly decode the massive information concealed in a large number of acoustic OAM-WDM channels. Our work also shows practical prospects in underwater communication applications, especially in long-range communication using acoustic waves at low frequencies.

Wire antenna with skew planar wheel structure for generating high‐purity OAM beam

AbstractThis paper presents the generation of an orbital angular momentum (OAM) wave using a wire antenna with a skew planar wheel structure at 5.8 GHz. The wire antenna consists of four arms, each of which behaves like a left‐handed circularly polarized antenna. The orientation and rotation of each arm are adjusted to obtain the desired phase shift, resulting in the generation of an OAM wave. The proposed design is fabricated and tested, and the results demonstrate that the OAM beam produced has high mode purity, with a peak gain of 2.8 dBi, divergence angle of , and high azimuthal symmetry. Both simulated and measured results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed wire antenna in generating an OAM wave. The proposed wire antenna has a wide range of potential applications, including communication systems, remote sensing, and radar imaging. In particular, the azimuthal symmetry of the OAM beam makes it particularly suitable for unmanned aerial vehicle applications.

Series-feed UCA antenna for generating highly azimuthal symmetric OAM Beam for unmanned aerial vehicles

This paper presents a new approach to producing a conical beam (CB) with highly azimuthal symmetry through a series-feed uniform circular array (UCA) antenna using circularly polarized (CP) elements and the orbital angular momentum (OAM) technique. Most previously proposed antenna designs for generating CB radiation patterns using mode-combining techniques have complex structures and high costs. The proposed antenna utilizes the inherent properties of OAM waves to generate a conical-shaped beam with simplicity and compactness. The UCA antenna utilizes CP elements, which are rotated to provide the desired far-field phase for generating the OAM beam. This design achieves extensive signal coverage and is highly efficient, with minimal spurious radiation and low insertion losses. The experimental measurements validate that the OAM beam produced by the UCA antenna has high azimuthal symmetry at 6GHz. The OAM beam generated exhibits high mode purity and a peak gain of 10dBi, with a divergence angle of ± 22°.

Optimized planar printed UCA configurations for OAM waves and the associated OAM mode content at the receiver

SummaryUtilization of planar printed uniform circular antenna arrays (UCA) to generate the orbital angular momentum (OAM) carrying waves in the millimeter‐wave (mmWave) frequency band is advantageous from the viewpoints of easy signal modulation and mode reconfiguration, low cost, low profile, and straightforward integration with the existing broadband wireless infrastructure. The OAM mmWave UCA are highly promising as the enablers of very high transmission data rates required by hybrid 5G/6G optical and wireless communication systems by complementing and enhancing other technologies currently in use. Therefore, we here contribute a detailed electromagnetic analysis of important constraints of such antenna arrangements aimed at short‐range multimode OAM wave transmission. We investigate (i) the required antenna array dimensions and optimized UCA arrangements for a particular link range and (ii) the corresponding mode structure of OAM waves in the plane of receiving arrays. Four relatively simple antenna configurations operating in the 60‐GHz band are compared. Theoretical assumptions based on ideal OAM modes are critically assessed and, using state‐of‐the‐art numerical electromagnetic analysis, compared to realistically generated OAM waves. The proposed “cyclic transmission setup” resulted in much lower unwanted field components in the region of receiving arrays. RMS magnitudes of unwanted modes are on average about 64% of the received mode, in comparison with 80% (up to 94%) for sequential transmission. The observed mode impurities and mode mixing effects at the receiver indicate the need to dedicate more attention to the system‐level design, the development of efficient receiving arrays, the MIMO processing, and the stream separation.

Demodulation method of orbital angular momentum vortex wave by few fields sampled on an extremely small partial aperture in radiation region

In this paper, a demodulation method of electromagnetic wave carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) has been developed by using few electric fields sampled on an extremely small portion of the whole circumference in the radiation region. Considering that the field of the OAM wave is naturally of the form of exp (ilφ) in the far-field region, the matrix pencil method is used to extract the magnitude terms and the exponential terms according to the real and imaginary parts of the fields sampled on a small portion of the whole circumference, and further, the mode purities corresponding to the desirable OAM modes can be easily solved. The proposed demodulation method only uses four sampling electric fields with the sampling angle ranges of 3.3° and 9° to well demodulate the mode purities of the OAM waves with the single mode and the mixed dual-mode, respectively. The prototype of a dual uniform circular array with the equal divergent angle for the OAM waves of the modes l = 1 and l = 2 is fabricated and measured. Good agreement between the simulation and the measurement is observed to verify the proposed demodulation method.

Generation of Terahertz OAM Waves with Six Modes Based on Three-Layer Z-Shaped Reflective Metasurface

In this paper, a broadband and efficient three-layer Z-shaped reflective metasurface for linear polarization conversion is designed and six different modes of orbital angular momentum (OAM) waves are generated in the terahertz band. The designed metasurface consisted of several units, and it is divided into twelve regions. The phase difference is achieved by changing the structural parameters of the units, and then different modes of OAM waves are generated. The terahertz OAM waves with the modes of ±1, ±2, and ±3 are generated by metasurface with high efficiency and wide bandwidth. The results show that the designed metasurface could produce high purity terahertz OAM waves with six different modes, and the reflection amplitude of the metasurface unit is more than 0.9 in the frequency range of 1.0 THz to 1.8 THz. The generated OAM waves with the modes of ±1 and ±2 have a mode purity more than 90%. The designed metasurface has good wavefront control ability, which provides an effective method to generate multimode OAM waves.

Dual-Band Antenna with OAM Mode Radiated by Ground Plane

Antennas that radiate orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes are usually large and have complex structures. In this paper, in combination with characteristic mode analysis, the ground plane is used as the OAM wave radiator. To excite degenerate modes of the ground plane with phase quadrature by using a single-fed structure, two bent metal strips with grounded ends are introduced around the rectangular ground plane, and a corner of one of the bent strips is set as the feeding point. For ground radiators, a first-order OAM mode is generated at the high-frequency end by synthesizing the degenerate modes. In case of the bent side strip, an inverted-F antenna that operates in the low-frequency mode is formed. This compact antenna has dual-band characteristics and facilitates simple feeding, which makes it suitable for mobile terminal applications.

Near-field formation of the UCA-based OAM EM fields and short-range EM power flux profiles

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing is a recently considered solution for enhancing wireless and free-space optical communications channel capacity, whether implemented separately or in combination with existing multiplexing techniques. The theoretically infinite number of paraxially propagating and mutually orthogonal OAM modes is expected to increase the channel capacity. However, the orthogonality for different OAM modes has been shown to decrease for far link range distances, and the paraxiality of the OAM beams is not very good for small radiating sources. Based on the current knowledge, OAM beams are most likely to be used for short-range communications. Many models of the electromagnetic (EM) fields carrying the OAM neglect the fact that the OAM beam sources could be electrically large or introduce other approximations that are appropriate for far-field analysis only. An in-depth analysis of the short-range properties of OAM EM fields is still lacking. To address this problem, we propose the use of the infinitesimal (Hertz) dipole method customized for the analysis of the OAM EM fields. This technique can model the positioning and basic radiation properties of separate antennas or antenna sub-arrays that are the building blocks of OAM arrays exactly and efficiently. Similar modeling can represent the OAM sources for free-space optical communications. We focus here on the uniform circular antenna arrays and provide an in-depth analysis of what can and cannot be expected, in the best case, in their utilization. We assume low losses, which is a common assumption for many methods, except for computationally much more demanding full-wave simulations. The obtained results indicate the need to simultaneously optimize the transmission of all planned OAM modes and allow estimates of the link distances that could provide adequate OAM wave reception in various cases.

A Low-Profile Dielectric Resonator Antenna Array for OAM Waves Generation at 5G NR Bands.

This paper presents the generation of orbital angular momentum (OAM) vortex waves with mode +1 using dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) array. The proposed antenna was designed and fabricated using FR-4 substrate to generate OAM mode +1 at 3.56 GHz (5G new radio band). The proposed antenna consists of 2 × 2 rectangular DRA array, a feeding network, and four cross slots etched on the ground plane. The proposed antenna succeeded in generating OAM waves; this was confirmed by the measured radiation pattern (2D polar form), simulated phase distribution, and intensity distribution. Moreover, mode purity analysis was carried out to verify the generation of OAM mode +1, and the purity obtained was 53.87%. The antenna operates from 3.2 to 3.66 GHz with a maximum gain of 7.3 dBi. Compared with previous designs, this proposed antenna is low-profile and easy to fabricate. In addition, the proposed antenna has a compact structure, wide bandwidth, high gain, and low losses, thus meeting the requirements of 5G NR applications.

Structured Beamforming Based on Orbital Angular Momentum Mode-Group

The structured beams, which can manipulate arbitrary intensity and phase of electromagnetic rays, are significant in communication and sensing. The vortex electromagnetic wave carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) exhibits the phase distribution of the helical wavefront, which can be viewed as a complete set of eigenmodes for electromagnetic waves. It provides a flexible beamforming method to achieve the azimuthal pattern diversity by the spatial superposition of multiple specific OAM modes. We have proposed a novel form of OAM wave with a two-dimensional structure called plane spiral OAM (PS-OAM), which is conducive to overlapping different modes. Based on this, the PS-OAM mode-group can be employed to modify the spatial beam structure and form structured electromagnetic beams. This kind of beam not only retains the inherent vorticity and orthogonality of the OAM waves but also tackles the difficulties in applications stemming from the singularity-caused dark zone and beam divergence of conventional OAM waves. In this paper, the construction and manipulation of the structured beams are investigated, and the properties are analyzed. The potential applications in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, orthogonal multiplexing communication, and spatial field digital modulation (SFDM) communication are envisioned.