Memory effect assisted imaging through multimode optical fibres

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Wave Phenomena
• Biomedical Imaging

Background:

• Light scattering in opaque materials scrambles spatial information, hindering imaging.
• Existing methods for information recovery include optical memory effects and transmission matrix (TM) approaches.
• A unified framework for understanding memory effects in diverse geometries is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a general framework for memory effects in arbitrary geometries.
• To enable guide-star assisted imaging in scattering media.
• To apply the framework to multimode fibers (MMFs) for micro-endoscopy applications.

Main Methods:

• Developed a general theoretical framework for optical memory effects.
• Combined wavefront shaping with guide-star feedback for TM estimation.
• Applied the framework to MMFs, identifying a 'quasi-radial' memory effect.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a unified approach to estimating the transmission matrix (TM) of scattering systems.
• Showcased guide-star assisted imaging feasibility across different memory effect types.
• Identified a quasi-radial memory effect in MMFs, allowing TM approximation from one end.

Conclusions:

• The developed framework broadens the applicability of memory effects in optics.
• Guide-star assisted imaging is robust to the type of memory effect exhibited by a scatterer.
• Approximating MMF TM from one end is a key advancement for micro-endoscopy and optical communication.