Abstract
We introduce a method to experimentally measure the monochromatic transmission matrix of a complex medium in optics. This method is based on a spatial phase modulator together with a full-field interferometric measurement on a camera. We determine the transmission matrix of a thick random scattering sample. We show that this matrix exhibits statistical properties in good agreement with random matrix theory and allows light focusing and imaging through the random medium. This method might give important insight into the mesoscopic properties of a complex medium.
- Received 27 October 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.100601
©2010 American Physical Society
Viewpoint
The information age in optics: Measuring the transmission matrix
Published 8 March 2010
The transmission of light through a disordered medium is described in microscopic detail by a high-dimensional matrix. Researchers have now measured this transmission matrix directly, providing a new approach to control light propagation.
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