Creating high-contrast patterns in multiple-scattering media via wavefront shaping

TL;DR

This paper introduces a wavefront shaping technique that enhances contrast in high-scattering media by manipulating non-local correlations, enabling targeted energy delivery with minimal background interference.

Contribution

The authors develop a novel method using contrast and difference operators to create high-contrast patterns and control energy distribution in disordered media.

Findings

Achieved high-contrast focusing behind scattering media.

Enabled targeted energy delivery with minimal background change.

Demonstrated control of non-local wave transport effects.

Abstract

Wavefront shaping allows focusing light through or inside strongly scattering media, but the background intensity also increases due to long-range correlations, reducing the target's contrast. By manipulating non-local intensity correlations of scattered waves in a disordered system with input wavefront shaping, we create high-contrast patterns behind strongly scattering media and targeted energy delivery into a diffusive system with minimal change in the surrounding intensity. These are achieved by introducing the contrast operator and the difference operator, and utilizing their eigenstates to maximize the target-to-background intensity contrast and energy difference. This work opens the door to coherent control of non-local effects in wave transport for practical applications.