On the possibility of long‐distance transmission of OAM beam in rectangular tunnels

Abstract This letter explores the possibility of long‐distance transmission of an orbital angular momentum (OAM) beam through rectangular tunnels. Theoretical analysis reveals that the OAM beam propagating in the tunnel with square cross section fulfills the conditions for axial propagation and exhibits azimuth symmetry. In comparison with free‐space OAM generation, we draw the conclusion that long‐distance transmission of OAM beams is achievable in the tunnels with square cross section. The validity of our conclusion is further substantiated through numerical experiments. Simulation results demonstrate that the first‐order OAM beam radiated by a uniform circular antenna array exhibits favorable helical phase distribution and the circular symmetry of the amplitude distribution in the tunnel beyond the Rayleigh distance. However, these characteristics degrade with increasing mode order and propagation distance, because the increase of high‐order OAM beam divergence angle and propagation distance will exacerbate the impact of multipath effects in the tunnel environment.