Focusing light through dynamical samples using fast continuous wavefront optimization

The guys at LKB keep going inside turbid media. This time, they have done it really fast. By using a phase spatial light modulator and with the help of a FPGA card, they were able to focus light through a scattering medium at a rate of ~4 kHz.

This is trying to solve a common problem in biological systems when you use the Transmission Matrix approach: live systems evolve, and thus the matrix that you measure is not valid after a really short time.

For me, this is a really nice technical implementation (and not an easy one to do) merging electronics, computer science, and optics to tackle a well defined biological problem.

Focusing light through dynamical samples using fast continuous wavefront optimization,

B. Blochet et al, at Optics Letters

(featured image extracted from Fig. 1 of the manuscript)

Abstract:

We describe a fast continuous optimization wavefront shaping system able to focus light through dynamic scattering media. A micro-electro-mechanical system-based spatial light modulator, a fast photodetector, and field programmable gate array electronics are combined to implement a continuous optimization of a wavefront with a single-mode optimization rate of 4.1 kHz. The system performances are demonstrated by focusing light through colloidal solutions of TiO2 particles in glycerol with tunable temporal stability.