Fast reconstruction of scalar and vector polymorphic beams through strong scattering media

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Light Field Manipulation
• Wave Propagation in Scattering Media

Background:

• Multiple scattering effects in strongly scattering media (SSM) significantly hinder the retrieval of structured light fields.
• Tailoring light field shapes and controlling multiple degrees of freedom through SSM remains a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate an efficient method for reconstructing scalar and vector polymorphic beams (SPBs and VPBs) through SSM.
• To enable customized SPBs and VPBs in disordered environments for applications like optical micromanipulation and deep-tissue imaging.

Main Methods:

• Employed discrete convolution-based vector point-spread-function (DC-VPSF) engineering.
• Calculated the required input field via digital optical phase conjugation on a vector transmission matrix (VTM)-based operator.
• Derived the VTM-based operator from the convolution between the measured VTM and the conjugate of a discrete VPSF.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated SPBs and VPBs with tunable phase distributions, controllable topological charges, and adjustable polarization states through SSM.
• Demonstrated focused VPBs with linear polarization tangential to tailored curves after propagation through SSM.
• Achieved higher intensity uniformity and significantly reduced computational time compared to previous VTM-based VPSF engineering.

Conclusions:

• The developed DC-VPSF engineering method efficiently reconstructs tailored light fields through SSM.
• This approach offers improved performance and reduced computational cost for generating customized SPBs and VPBs.
• The work holds promise for advanced applications in optical micromanipulation and deep-tissue imaging.