In
this colloquium talk I will give an accessible overview of the emerging field of wavefront shaping in
strongly scattering media, highlighting the opportunities for new research.
Random scattering of light, which takes place in paper, paint and biological tissue is an obstacle to
imaging and focusing of light and thus hampers many applications. At the same time scattering is a
phenomenon of basic physical interest as it allows the study of fascinating
interference effects such as
open transport channels [1,2], which enable lossless transport of waves through strongly scattering
materials.
Propagation of laser light in scattering media can be controlled by shaping the incident wavefront using
spatial light modulators. Wavefront shaping methods in scattering media have given rise to a new wave
of fundamental studies of light propagation as well as new modalities of imaging and focusing
with
scattered light.
Recently we demonstrated that speckle correlations enable non-invasive fluorescence
imaging through strongly scattering layers [3].
Scattering “lenses” made of high-index materials allow
wide-field speckle-illumination microscopy
with a resolution approaching 100 nm [4].
In waveguides scattering can be exceptionally strong. We have very recently
demonstrated
dynamic
control
of
resonant scattering using light, which allows interactive control
of scattering [5], with the
possibility to create a new class of adaptive
nanophotonic circuits.
References
[1] A. P. Mosk, A. Lagendijk, G. Lerosey, and M. Fink,
Controlling waves in space and time for
imaging and focusing in complex media
, Nat. Photon., 6, 283 (2012)
[2]
I.M. Vellekoop and A.P. Mosk,
Universal optimal transmission of light through disordered
materials,
Phys. Rev. Lett.
101, 120601 (2008).
[3]
J. Bertolotti, E. G. van Putten, C. Blum, A. Lagend
ijk, W. L. Vos, and A. P. Mosk,
Non-
invasive
imaging
through opaque scattering layers, Nature,
491, 232 (2012).
[4]
H. Yı
lmaz, E. G. van Putten, J. Bertolotti, A. Lagendijk, W. L. Vos, and A. P. Mosk,
Exploiting
speckle correlations to improve the resolution of wide-field fluorescence microscopy,
Optica 2,
424 (2015)
[5]
S. Sokolov, J. Lian, E. Yüce, S. Combrié, G. Lehoucq, A. De Rossi, and A. P. Mosk,
Local
thermal resonance control of GaInP photonic crystal membrane cavities using ambient gas
cooling,
Appl. Phys. Lett. 106, 171113 (2015)
