arXiv subjects

Sébastien Popoff

Publications and source records attributed to Sébastien Popoff.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The vanishing distance: a practical range boundary for dynamic wavefront shaping

Wavefront shaping (WFS) is a powerful modern method to control light propagation through scattering media, with applications ranging from biomedical imaging via cryptography to free-space optical communication. While WFS has been highly successful in static or slowly evolving media, its practical relevance in dynamic and extended scattering environments remains difficult to assess. In particular, no simple criterion currently identifies the propagation distance beyond which the residual ballistic component is no longer distinguishable from the scattered background. Here, we introduce the vanishing distance, defined as the propagation length where the ballistic power equals that carried by a single diffuse mode. Unlike the transport mean free path, which characterizes angular randomization of the scattered field, the vanishing distance identifies the loss of the ballistic channel on a modal-power basis. Beyond this distance, transmission or imaging can no longer rely on the ballistic component and must instead exploit the scattered field. We present a simple semi-analytical model, validated against Monte Carlo simulations and experiments in both monodisperse and heterogeneous scattering media, allowing the vanishing distance and the associated minimum source power to be estimated. Across representative scattering environments, the transition is found to occur typically after about 30-40 scattering mean free paths. These results provide a simple guideline for assessing the practical relevance of dynamic wavefront shaping.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Nanosecond wavefront shaping to focus through agitated turbid media

Multiple scattering rapidly scrambles optical fields in fog, snow and turbid water, causing op- timized wavefront corrections to become obsolete on microsecond timescales. Although wavefront shaping enables focusing through static scattering layers, closed-loop control in dynamically evolving media has remained experimentally challenging because the correction bandwidth must approach the intrinsic decorrelation rate of the speckle. Here, we demonstrate closed-loop wavefront shaping with 32 independent degrees of freedom in an agitated turbid medium exhibiting sub-microsecond decorrelation. The medium thickness exceeds the transport mean free path, meaning the far-field speckle autocorrelation is limited to a diffraction-sized grain. Despite the microsecond decorrelation and this multiple-scattering regime, stable focusing is maintained as the correction cycle approaches the intrinsic dynamics of the medium. These results establish an experimentally accessible regime for coherent wave control in rapidly evolving complex media.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2014

Imaging With Nature: Compressive Imaging Using a Multiply Scattering Medium

The recent theory of compressive sensing leverages upon the structure of signals to acquire them with much fewer measurements than was previously thought necessary, and certainly well below the traditional Nyquist-Shannon sampling rate. However, most implementations developed to take advantage of this framework revolve around controlling the measurements with carefully engineered material or acquisition sequences. Instead, we use the natural randomness of wave propagation through multiply scattering media as an optimal and instantaneous compressive imaging mechanism. Waves reflected from an object are detected after propagation through a well-characterized complex medium. Each local measurement thus contains global information about the object, yielding a purely analog compressive sensing method. We experimentally demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach for optical imaging by using a 300-micrometer thick layer of white paint as the compressive imaging device. Scattering media are thus promising candidates for designing efficient and compact compressive imagers.

physics.optics↗