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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE

Ultrafast adiabatic control of reciprocity and coherent backscattering in random scattering media

Otto L. Muskens, Timmo van der Beek, Thomas Wellens

Published Mar 14, 2013• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate ultrafast control over reciprocal light paths in random media. The combination of multiple scattering and coherence of light gives rise to strong interference contributions in light transport. An important interference correction to diffusion theory is the coherent backscattering effect, the constructive interference of reciprocal light paths in the backscattering direction. Our experiments show that the phase coherence between these paths can be suppressed by introducing dynamics faster than the photon dwell time. This adiabatic dephasing is of interest for its potential for controlling weak and strong localization and adiabatic storage and release of photonic information.

DOI
10.1117/12.2013706

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We experimentally demonstrate ultrafast control over reciprocal light paths in random media. The combination of multiple scattering and coherence of light gives rise to strong interference contributions in light transport. An important interference correction to diffusion theory is the coherent backscattering effect, the constructive interference of reciprocal light paths in the backscattering direction. Our experiments show that the phase coherence between these paths can be suppressed by introducing dynamics faster than the photon dwell time. This adiabatic dephasing is of interest for its potential for controlling weak and strong localization and adiabatic storage and release of photonic information.
We demonstrate that ultrafast nonlinear dynamics gives rise to reciprocity breaking in a random photonic medium. Reciprocity breaking is observed via the suppression of coherent backscattering, a manifestation of weak localization of light. The effect is observed in a pump-probe configuration where the pump induces an ultrafast step change of the refractive index during the dwell time of the probe light in the material. The dynamical suppression of coherent backscattering is reproduced well by a multiple scattering Monte Carlo simulation. Ultrafast reciprocity breaking provides a distinct mechanism in nonlinear optical media, which opens up avenues for the active manipulation of mesoscopic transport, random lasers, and photon localization.
Reciprocity is a universal principle that has a profound impact on many areas of physics. A fundamental phenomenon in condensed-matter physics, optical physics, and acoustics, arising from reciprocity, is the constructive interference of quantum or classical waves which propagate along time-reversed paths in disordered media, leading to, for example, weak localization and metal-insulator transition. Previous studies have shown that such coherent effects are suppressed when reciprocity is broken. Here we experimentally show that by tuning a nonreciprocal phase we can coherently control complex coherent phenomena, rather than simply suppress them. In particular, we manipulate coherent backscattering of light, also known as weak localization. By utilizing a magneto-optical effect, we control the interference between time-reversed paths inside a multimode fiber with strong mode mixing, observe the optical analog of weak antilocalization, and realize a continuous transition from weak localization to weak antilocalization. Our results may open new possibilities for coherent control of waves in complex systems.
We present an experimental study of coherent backscattering (CBS) of photon noise from multiple scattering media. We use a pseudothermal light source with a microsecond coherence time to produce a noise spectrum covering a continuous transition, from wave fluctuations to shot noise over several MHz. The angle-dependent Fano factor of backscattered light shows an enhancement due to CBS in the wave fluctuation regime. The CBS line shape and enhancement factor of the noise power is consistent with theory in the weak-scattering limit and for a large number of open reflection channels. These initial experiments on weakly scattering media demonstrate that sensitive noise measurements can be combined with the separation of path lengths present in CBS, opening up new experiments on noise transport in the localization regime.
Collective effects on the light scattered by disordered media such as Anderson localization and coherent backscattering critically depend on the reciprocity between interfering optical paths. In this work, we explore the breaking of reciprocity for the light scattered by a disordered cold atom setup, taking advantage of the non-commutation of optical elements that manipulate the polarization of the interfering paths. This breaking of symmetry manifests itself in the reduction of the fringes contrast as the light scattered by the cloud interferes with that from its mirror image. We provide a geometrical interpretation in terms of the Pancharatnam-Berry phase, which we directly access from the fringes displacement. Our work paves the way toward the manipulation of path reciprocity and interference for light scattered by disordered media.
Coherent backscattering is a coherence effect in the propagation of waves through disordered media involving two or more scattering events. Here we report on the observation of coherent backscattering from individual atoms and their mirror images. This system displays two important advantages: First, the effect can be observed at low optical densities, which allows us to work in very dilute clouds or far from resonance. Second, due to the fact that the radiation of an atom interferes constructively with that of its own image, the phenomenon is much more robust to dephasing induced by strong saturation. In particular, the contribution of inelastically scattered photons to the interference process is demonstrated.
Summary form only given. A wave propagating in a strongly scattering medium experiences many scattering events which rapidly erase the memory of its initial direction on a typical scale length known as the transport mean free path. It is now known that interference can profoundly alter the wave transport, a spectacular manifestation being weak and strong localisation of waves. We shall briefly review the basics of coherent backscattering (CBS) and the results obtained with classical scatterers. We shall then describe our experiment using cold atoms and discuss the experimental data. The non trivial role of the atomic quantum internal structure in the enhancement reduction will be singled out in a simple situation and results of analytical calculations will be presented.