LAUSR

Abstract Bessel–Gaussian (BG) beams have shown their great potential application in optical communication for resisting atmospheric turbulence or ocean turbulence. Using On/Off Keying (OOK) modulation format, an underwater data transmission performance over 1m free space optical link under various oceanic channel conditions, such as current, thermal gradient, scattering and bubbles, is experimentally demonstrated and analyzed. These conditions can distort signal wavefront, and lead to errors. This work shows the improvements in underwater data transmission performance under influence of oceanic channel conditions using a 520 nm BG beams. By comparing with Gaussian beams, BG beams exhibited lower beam wander and more stable receiver power. Additionally, the bit error rate (BER) of BG beams at several Mbps data rate improved 1 ∼ 2.5 orders of magnitude under influence of current and thermal gradient. BG beams offer a robust and useful choice for resisting various influence factors.