Perfect transmission through Anderson localized systems mediated by a cluster of localized modes

In a strongly scattering medium where Anderson localization takes place, constructive interference of local non-propagating waves dominate over the incoherent addition of propagating waves. This results in the disappearance of propagating waves within the medium, which significantly attenuates energy transmission. In this numerical study performed in the optical regime, we systematically found resonance modes, called eigenchannels, of a 2-D Anderson localized system that allow for the near-perfect energy transmission. We observed that the internal field distribution of these eigenchannels exhibit dense clustering of localized modes. This strongly suggests that the clustered resonance modes facilitate long-range energy flow of local waves. Our study explicitly elucidates the interplay between wave localization and transmission enhancement in the Anderson localization regime. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America