Depth-Targeted Energy Delivery Deep Inside Scattering Media
Abstract
Diffusion makes it difficult to predict and control wave transport through a medium. Overcoming wave diffusion to deliver energy into a target region deep inside a diffusive system is an important challenge for applications, but also represents an interesting fundamental question. It is known that coherently controlling the incident wavefront allows diffraction-limited focusing inside a diffusive system, but in many applications, the targets are significantly larger than a focus and the maximum deliverable energy remains unknown. Here we introduce the ‘deposition matrix’, which maps an input wavefront to the internal field distribution, and we theoretically predict the ultimate limit on energy enhancement at any depth. Additionally, we find that the maximum obtainable energy enhancement occurs at three-fourths the thickness of the diffusive system, regardless of its scattering strength. We experimentally verify our predictions by measuring the deposition matrix in two-dimensional diffusive waveguides. The experiment gives direct access to the internal field distribution from the third dimension, and we can excite the eigenstates to enhance or suppress the energy within an extended target region. Our analysis reveals that such enhancement or suppression results from both selective transmission-eigenchannel excitation and constructive or destructive interference among these channels.
Recommended Citation
N. Bender et al., "Depth-Targeted Energy Delivery Deep Inside Scattering Media," Nature Physics, Springer Nature, Jan 2022.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01475-x
Department(s)
Physics
Keywords and Phrases
Condensed-matter physics; Optics and photonics
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
1745-2473; 1745-2481
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2022 Springer Nature, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
27 Jan 2022
Comments
This work is partly supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) under grant no. N00014-20-1-2197, and by the National Science Foundation under grant nos. DMR-1905465, DMR-1905442 and OAC-1919789.