Directly and instantly seeing through random diffusers by self-imaging in scattering speckles

Abstract

Imaging through scattering medium is challenging but important for different applications. Most advances rely on computational image reconstruction from scattering signals. In these conventional investigations, speckles were always treated as scrambled grainy patterns. Directly seeing through scattering diffusers has never been realized. Here, we report a new strategy to see through random diffusers directly using self-imaging of speckles. By analyzing the physics, a direct observation strategy through scattering media is reported with improved image quality. Using this method, we experimentally demonstrated reconstruction-free real-time imaging of static and moving objects with their actual orientation information under single-wavelength and white light illumination. We also proposed a modified speckle autocorrelation imaging (SAI) method inspired by the self-imaging results. Importantly, our strategy requires no pre-calibration or acquisition of point-spread-function, no active control of wavefronts or complicated equipment, nor iterations or carefully adjusted parameters, paving the way towards rapid and high-quality imaging through scattering diffusers.