Theoretical optimal modulation frequencies for scattering parameter estimation and ballistic photon filtering in diffusing media

Optical coherent detection through multi-scattering media by wave-mixing cleaning effect in liquid-crystal OASLM

Liquid-crystal (LC) optically addressable spatial light modulators (OASLMs) allow control of the phase and amplitude of optical beams. By performing wave mixing in an OASLM, we show that coherent phase detection can be achieved for light beams passing through highly scattering media, such as foam layers with several cm thicknesses. Thanks to the adaptive response of our OASLM, the phase information on the speckle signal is transferred at the output of the OASLM to the plane wave reference beam, allowing the cleaning of optical distortions and the direct measurement of amplitude phase modulations with a small diameter single photodiode. A good signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is demonstrated for foam thickness up to 3 cm. These properties, together with the recently demonstrated sub-ms response time of our OASLM, make the method compatible with foreseen applications for imaging in biomedical tissues and turbid media.

Spectral intensity correlations of backscattered diffuse light: the effect of scattering anisotropy

In this work, we report experiments and a theoretical scheme of photon transport in the frequency domain of rigid turbid media. We have employed spectral multi-speckle intensity correlations to estimate optical properties as the transport mean free path and the absorption length of turbid systems. We propose a scheme based on the photon diffusion model using an effective path-length distribution in the backscattering configuration and take explicitly into account the particles scattering anisotropy parameter g. By studying rigid Teflon slabs and polymer matrices doped with polystyrene particles of different degrees of scattering anisotropy, we find that the proposed model adequately describes our experimental results. Our hypothesis for the diffuse transport of backscattered photons in the weak multiple scattering regime is further validated using a numerical simulation scheme of speckle dynamics, based on the Copula method.

An all-optical technique enables instantaneous single-shot demodulation of images at high frequency

High-frequency demodulation of wide area optical signals in a snapshot manner remains a technological challenge. If solved, it could open tremendous perspectives in 3D imaging, vibrometry, free-space communications, automated vision, or ballistic photon imaging in scattering media with numerous applications in smart autonomous vehicles and medical diagnosis. We present here a snapshot quadrature demodulation imaging technique, capable of estimating the amplitude and phase from a single acquisition, without synchronization of emitter and receiver, and with the added capability of continuous frequency tuning. This all-optical optimized setup comprises an electro-optic crystal acting as a fast sinusoidal optical transmission gate, and allows four quadrature image channels to be recorded simultaneously with any conventional camera. We report the design, experimental validation and examples of applications of such wide-field quadrature demodulating system that allowed snapshot demodulation of images with good spatial resolution and continuous frequency selectivity up to a few 100s of kilohertz.

Traditional lock-in detection methods have been limited for wide-field imaging. Here, the authors present an all-optical design which enables four quadrature image channels to be recorded simultaneously, and show demodulation of wide-field images based on a single frame acquisition.

Phaseless incoherent optical frequency domain spectroscopy

We describe a new technique for incoherent optical frequency domain spectroscopy (I-OFDS) that does not require measurements of the RF phase spectrum in order to reconstruct the optical spectrum. It is based on the addition of either an optical or electronic reference line to the I-OFDS system. Compared to the spectrum acquired by a regular I-OFDS system, high accuracy (error<1%) is predicted and achieved.