Open Access
Harnessing randomness to control the polarization of light transmitted through highly scattering media
Author(s) -
Santosh Kumar Tripathi,
Kimani C. Toussaint
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.22.004412
Subject(s) - optics , scattering , wavefront , polarization (electrochemistry) , physics , light scattering , forward scatter , randomness , mathematics , chemistry , statistics
We show that the multiple scattering events taking place inside a highly scattering medium, in conjunction with wavefront shaping, can be used to control the state of polarization of the light transmitted through a highly scattering medium. This control is achieved by using the intensity, phase, and polarization changing behavior of a scattering medium captured by a vector transmission matrix (VTM). We use a single beam incident upon a scattering medium to measure the absolute value of the VTM elements, in contrast to the multiple beams required in our previously reported approach. Further, the phase-only spatial light modulator based on a low-cost (< US$600) deformable micro-mirror array used in our work will make similar experiments accessible to other researchers.