涡旋光束携带的轨道角动量(OAM)为光波的空间域提供了新的维度资源，吸引了越来越多研究人员的关注。由于具有不同OAM 模式值的涡旋光束相互正交，因此将OAM 模式引入传统光通信领域，衍生出两种新的应用机制——OAM 键控(OAM-SK)与OAM 复用(OAM-DM)，这为未来实现高速、大容量及高频谱效率的光通信技术提供了潜在的解决方案。本文将从OAM 光束的类别和产生方法等基本概念理论出发，对这两种通信应用机制相关的典型研究案例做简要概述，并重点论述三种关键技术，包括OAM 光束复用技术、OAM 光束解调技术以及OAM 光通信的大气湍流效应抑制技术。最后，对OAM 光通信技术的未来发展趋势及其前景进行了分析与展望。

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) carried by the vortex beam provides a new dimension resource in the spatial domain of light waves, which attracting more and more researching attentions. Since the vortex beams with different OAM mode values are orthogonal to each other, the OAM mode is introduced into the field of traditional optical communication, and two new application mechanisms are derived: OAM shift keying (OAM-SK) and OAM division multiplexing (OAM-DM), which provides a potential solution for future high-speed, high-capacity and high-spectrum efficiency optical communication technologies. Based on the basic concepts and theories of OAM beam types and their generation methods, this paper will give a brief overview of typical research cases related to the application mechanisms of these two communication systems. Three key technologies have been discussed, including OAM beam multiplexing technology, OAM beam demodulation technology, and turbulence suppression technology of OAM-based optical communication. Finally, the future developing trends and prospects of OAM-based optical communication technology are analyzed and forecasted.