Adaptive optics compensation of orbital angular momentum beams with a modified Gerchberg–Saxton-based phase retrieval algorithm

Abstract Practical orbital angular momentum (OAM)-based free-space optical (FSO) communications commonly experience serious performance degradation and crosstalk due to atmospheric turbulence. In this paper, we propose a wave-front sensorless adaptive optics (WSAO) system with a modified Gerchberg–Saxton (GS)-based phase retrieval algorithm to correct distorted OAM beams. We use the spatial phase perturbation (SPP) GS algorithm with a distorted probe Gaussian beam as the only input. The principle and parameter selections of the algorithm are analyzed, and the performance of the algorithm is discussed. The simulation results show that the proposed adaptive optics (AO) system can significantly compensate for distorted OAM beams in single-channel or multiplexed OAM systems, which provides new insights into adaptive correction systems using OAM beams.