Enhancing light transmission through a random medium with inhomogeneous scattering and loss

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that wavefront shaping can significantly enhance light transmission through disordered waveguides with inhomogeneous scattering and loss by selectively coupling light to high transmission channels.

Contribution

The study introduces a method to improve total light transmission in inhomogeneous media using adaptive wavefront shaping with an on-chip tapered lead.

Findings

Enhanced total transmission of light in disordered waveguides.

Selective coupling to high transmission channels bypassing lossy regions.

Wavefront shaping effectively controls light transport in complex media.

Abstract

We enhanced the total transmission of light through a disordered waveguide with spatially inhomogeneous scattering and loss by shaping the incident wavefront of a laser beam. Using an on-chip tapered lead, we were able to access all input modes in the waveguide with a spatial light modulator. The adaptive wavefront shaping resulted in selective coupling of input light to high transmission channels, which bypassed the regions of higher scattering and loss in the waveguide. The spatial inhomogeneity of scattering and loss led to redirecting of energy flux to optical paths with less scattering and loss to maximize total energy transported through the system. This work demonstrated the power of wavefront shaping in coherent control of light transport in inhomogeneous scattering media, which are common in real applications.