Auto-recovery property of OPB under obstacles and inclement weather

The Optical Pin Beam (OPB) has gained considerable attention due to its high energy concentration and slow divergence, making it an asset for applications in optical communication and laser ranging. However, its auto-recovery properties under partial obstructions and challenging weather conditions have not been fully explored. The objective of this study was to investigate the auto-recovery capabilities of OPBs when partially obstructed by sector obstacles at different positions, angles, and distributions, as well as under adverse weather conditions, such as rain and fog. Using numerical simulations and indoor and outdoor experiments, we introduced the similarity factor and scintillation index to quantify the auto-recovery performance and compared the OPB with the traditional Gaussian Beam (GB). The results demonstrate that reducing the sector angles, increasing dispersed obstacle distribution, and increasing the distances between obstacles and the mask markedly enhance the auto-recovery capacity of OPBs. Furthermore, experimental results show that the light intensity and energy distribution concentration of OPBs outperform those of GBs after 1 km of transmission under both sunny and rainy–foggy conditions. In particular, the average received power of OPB is 2.11 times that of GB on sunny days, and it increases to 5.14 times on rainy–foggy days. This significant difference demonstrates OPB’s excellent auto-recovery property in adverse weather. These findings suggest that OPBs hold considerable potential for use in optical communication, laser ranging, particle capture, and imaging under challenging environmental conditions.