Hologram transmission through multi-mode optical fibers

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Wavefront Engineering
• Fiber Optics

Background:

• Controlling light propagation in optical fibers is crucial for various applications.
• Multi-mode optical fibers typically scramble light, making pattern generation challenging.
• Spatial Light Modulators (SLMs) offer precise control over light wavefronts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the generation of structured light intensity patterns at the output of a multi-mode optical fiber.
• To investigate the superposition properties of these generated light patterns.
• To derive an analytical relationship between hologram weights and output intensity ratios.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a spatial light modulator (SLM) to shape the wavefront of an input beam.
• Launching the shaped beam into a multi-mode optical fiber.
• Analyzing the intensity patterns at the fiber output.
• Superimposing phase-only holograms and analyzing the resulting intensity distributions.

Main Results:

• Successfully produced structured light intensity patterns at the output of a multi-mode optical fiber.
• Demonstrated that output intensities can be superimposed by complex superposition of phase-only holograms.
• Derived an analytical expression linking output intensity ratios to hologram weights in the superposition.

Conclusions:

• Wavefront shaping with SLMs enables controlled generation of structured light in multi-mode fibers.
• The superposition property simplifies the control and combination of light patterns.
• The derived analytical expression provides a quantitative tool for designing holographic patterns.