Performance evaluation of underwater optical communications using spatial modes subjected to bubbles and obstructions

Spatial modes have attracted increasing interest in free-space and fiber-based optical communications. Underwater wireless optical communication is becoming a promising technique in marine exploration. Here we investigate the underwater wireless optical communications using different spatial modes, i.e., traditional Gaussian modes, orbital angular momentum modes having helical phase fronts, and diffraction-free and obstruction-tolerant Bessel modes. We evaluate the underwater transmission performance of three spatial modes subjected to dynamic bubbles, which cause similar power fluctuations, regardless of spatial modes. We also demonstrate an underwater transmission link subjected to static obstructions using three spatial modes carrying 1.4 Gbaud orthogonal frequency division multiplexing 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) signals. The Bessel mode shows the best performance against obstructions.