Hui Cao

Transmission eigenchannels are building blocks of coherent wave transport through multiple-scattering media. High transmission eigenchannel can have near unity transmittance. Wavefront shaping techniques have been developed to selectively couple light into such channels to enhance light transmittance through multiple-scattering media. It has been shown that coupling light into high-transmission channels not only enhances the transmittance, but also modifies the depth profile of energy density inside the medium.

We discover that the transmission eigenchannels of a wide multiple-scattering slab exhibit transversely localized incident and outgoing intensity profiles, even in the diffusive regime far from Anderson localization. Such transverse localization can be understood with optical reciprocity, local coupling of spatial modes, and non-local intensity correlations of multiply-scattered light. Experimentally, we observe transverse localization of high-transmission channels with finite illumination area. Transverse localization of high-transmission channels enhances optical energy densities inside and on the back surface of the turbid media, which will be important for imaging and sensing applications.

We further demonstrate that selective coupling of light into a single transmission eigenchannel modifies the range of angular memory effect. High-transmission channels have a broader range of memory effect than a plane wave or a Gaussian beam. Thus will provide a wider field-of-view for memory-effect-based imaging through multiple-scattering media.