Tunable Mode Control Through Myriad-Mode Fibers

Multimode fibers are attractive for imaging, communication, computation, and energy delivery. Unfortunately, intermodal and polarization coupling precludes direct control of the delivered mode composition. We present a technique to tailor the mode composition at the output of a multimode fiber with thousands of modes, which we refer to as myriad-mode fiber, using its experimentally measured transmission matrix. While precise mode control has been demonstrated in typical multimode fibers with up to 210 modes, the method proposed here is particularly useful for high mode number fibers, such as when the number of modes is comparable to the number of modes of the wavefront shaping spatial light modulator. To illustrate the technique, we select different subsets of modes to create focal spots at the output of a fiber with 7140 modes. Importantly, we define efficiency and fidelity metrics to evaluate the mode control and demonstrate the relationship between efficiency, fidelity, and the spatial location of the spots across the distal fiber cross-section.

Automated summary

The paper introduces a technique to tailor the mode composition at the output of a multimode fiber by using its experimentally measured transmission matrix, specifically for high mode number fibers. Different subsets of modes were selected to create focal spots at the output of a fiber with 7140 modes, and efficiency and fidelity metrics were defined to evaluate mode control.