Damien Loterie

Digital confocal microscopy through a multimode fiber.

Confocal laser-scanning microscopy is a well-known optical imaging method where a pinhole is used in the illumination and detection pathways of a normal microscope, in order to selectively excite and detect a particular focal volume. The advantage of this method is a significant increase in contrast, due to the rejection of background contributions to the signal. Here, we propose to apply this method in the context of multimode fiber endoscopy. Due to modal scrambling, it is not possible to use a physical pinhole to filter light signals that have travel through multimode fibers. Instead, we use a transmission matrix approach to characterize the propagation of light through the fiber, and we apply the filtering operation in the digital domain.

Thermal phase change actuator for self-tracking solar concentration

We present a proof of principle demonstration of a reversible in-plane actuator activated by focused sunlight, and describe a concept for its use as a self-tracking mechanism in a planar solar concentrator. By actuating at the location of focused sunlight and splitting the solar spectrum for actuation energy, this phase change device aims to provide the adaptive mechanism necessary to efficiently couple concentrated solar light from a lens into a planar lightguide in a manner that is insensitive to incidence angle. As a preliminary demonstration we present a planar actuator array capable of in-plane deflections of >50μm when illuminated with focused light from a solar simulator and demonstrate solar light activated frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) with the actuator array. We further propose how this solar induced FTIR effect can be modified using a dichroic facet array to self-adaptively couple and concentrate solar light into a planar lightguide.We present a proof of principle demonstration of a reversible in-plane actuator activated by focused sunlight, and describe a concept for its use as a self-tracking mechanism in a planar solar concentrator. By actuating at the location of focused sunlight and splitting the solar spectrum for actuation energy, this phase change device aims to provide the adaptive mechanism necessary to efficiently couple concentrated solar light from a lens into a planar lightguide in a manner that is insensitive to incidence angle. As a preliminary demonstration we present a planar actuator array capable of in-plane deflections of >50 μm when illuminated with focused light from a solar simulator and demonstrate solar light activated frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) with the actuator array. We further propose how this solar induced FTIR effect can be modified using a dichroic facet array to self-adaptively couple and concentrate solar light into a planar lightguide.

Confocal microscopy through a multimode fiber using optical correlation.

We report on a method to obtain confocal imaging through multimode fibers using optical correlation. First, we measure the fibers transmission matrix in a calibration step. This allows us to create focused spots at one end of the fiber by shaping the wavefront sent into it from the opposite end. These spots are scanned over a sample, and the light returning from the sample via the fiber is optically correlated with the input pattern. We show that this achieves spatial selectivity in the detection. The technique is demonstrated on microbeads, a dried epithelial cell, and a cover glass.

High power, ultrashort pulse control through a multi-core fiber for ablation

Ultrashort pulse ablation has become a useful tool for micromachining and biomedical surgical applications. Implementation of ultrashort pulse ablation in confined spaces has been limited by endoscopic delivery and focusing of a high peak power pulse. Here we demonstrate ultrashort pulse ablation through a thin multi-core fiber (MCF) using wavefront shaping, which allows for focusing and scanning the pulse without requiring distal end optics and enables a smaller ablation tool. The intensity necessary for ablation is significantly higher than for multiphoton imaging. We show that the ultimate limitations of the MCF based ablation are the nonlinear effects induced by the pulse in the MCFs cores. We characterize and compare the performance of two devices utilizing a different number of cores and demonstrate ultrashort pulse ablation on a thin film of gold.

Self-tracking planar concentrator using a solar actuated phase-change mechanism

In this paper we discuss optical considerations and present design simulation results for a self-tracking (passive) solar concentrator. The self-tracking mechanism uses a reversible in-plane paraffin thermal actuator to couple shortwavelength light into a lightguide at the position of the solar focus. By splitting the solar spectrum using a longpass dichroic faceted reflector for actuation energy, this device adaptively self-tracks and concentrates solar light into a planar waveguide.

Single-photon three-dimensional microfabrication through a multimode optical fiber

Two-photon polymerization (TPP) processes have enabled the fabrication of advanced and functional microstructures. However, most TPP platforms are bulky and require the use of expensive femtosecond lasers. Here, we propose an inexpensive and compact alternative to TPP by adapting an endoscopic imaging system for single-photon three-dimensional microfabrication. The wavefront of a visible continuous-wave laser beam is shaped so that it focuses into a photoresist through a 5 cm long ultra-thin multimode optical fiber (∅70 μm, NA 0.64). Using this device, we show that single-photon polymerization can be confined to the phase-controlled focal spot thanks to the non-linearity of the photoresist, likely due to oxygen radical scavenging. Thus, by exploiting this non-linearity with a specific overcuring method we demonstrate single-photon three-dimensional fabrication of solid and hollow microstructures through a multimode fiber with a 1.0-μm lateral and 21.5-μm axial printing resolution. This opens up new possibilities for advanced and functional microfabrication through endoscopic probes with inexpensive laser sources.

Bend translation in multimode fiber imaging

Light propagation in multimode fibers is typically assumed to be extremely sensitive to changes in geometry. We study here a particular configuration where an S-shaped bend is translated between two sections of fiber. In this sliding bend configuration, we show that nearly constant propagation characteristics can be obtained in certain fibers. Several fibers were tested using a bend with a peak radius of curvature of 25 mm. We found large differences in bending behavior between fibers of varying core diameters and numerical apertures. Fibers with a large numerical aperture are found to be more stable. In several fibers, the bend can be translated over a distance of 25 mm with a limited impact on imaging performance. The experimental results are confirmed using simulations. Our findings shed a new light on bending sensitivity in multimode fibers, and open up more possibilities for their use as imaging devices.

Complex pattern projection through a multimode fiber

Wavefront shaping through multimode fibers has many interesting applications, such as micromanipulation and endoscopy, where the small diameter of fibers is an advantage in terms of miniaturization. However, pattern projection can suffer from deleterious interference effects depending on the measurement conditions. We experimentally demonstrate the projection of high quality patterns through a multimode fiber by correcting for phase drifts while measuring the transmission matrix, and by controlling both the amplitude and the phase of the wavefront sent to the fiber. We also use the matrix in the reverse direction by reconstructing a distal image from a proximally measured speckle field. This opens up new possibilities for imaging through a multimode fiber by decoding wavefronts travelling both ways along the fiber.

3D printing with multimode fibers (Conference Presentation)

We show that a multimode fiber can be used to deliver shaped light, either continuous wave or ultra fast pulses, in a resin in order to build useful complex three dimensional objects in areas difficult or impossible to reach with conventional manufacturing tools. We show complex objects that are made by additive manufacturing with either a single photon or a 2 photon process. We investigate the build volume and resolution that are possible by engineering the fiber tip.

Multimode optical fiber transmission with a deep learning network

Multimode fibers (MMFs) are an example of a highly scattering medium, which scramble the coherent light propagating within them to produce seemingly random patterns. Thus, for applications such as imaging and image projection through an MMF, careful measurements of the relationship between the inputs and outputs of the fiber are required. We show, as a proof of concept, that a deep neural network can learn the input-output relationship in a 0.75 m long MMF. Specifically, we demonstrate that a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) can learn the nonlinear relationships between the amplitude of the speckle pattern (phase information lost) obtained at the output of the fiber and the phase or the amplitude at the input of the fiber. Effectively, the network performs a nonlinear inversion task. We obtained image fidelities (correlations) as high as ~98% for reconstruction and ~94% for image projection in the MMF compared with the image recovered using the full knowledge of the system transmission characterized with the complex measured matrix. We further show that the network can be trained for transfer learning, i.e., it can transmit images through the MMF, which belongs to another class not used for training/testing.Multimode fibres: Neural network descramblingA convolutional neural network (CNN) can successfully learn the nonlinear transmission characteristics of a multimode fibre thus allowing accurate image transmission and reconstruction. Propagation along a multimode fibre usually scrambles an input image, resulting in a seemingly random speckle pattern at the output. Babak Rahmani and coworkers from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have now shown that a deep neural network(either a 22-layer CNN based on VGG-net technology or a 20-layer CNN based on Res-net technology) can learn the input-output relationship in a 0.75 m long piece of multimode fibre) and thus undo this scrambling. Experiments showed that both neural networks could perform highly accurate image reconstruction with an image fidelity as high as ~98% for image reconstruction and ~94% for image projection in the best case.