New ways to look through multimode optical fibres

Hair-thin strands of multimode optical fibre (MMF) can operate as ultra-low footprint endoscopes - delivering subcellular resolution images from deep inside the body at the tip of a fine needle. However, images transmitted through MMFs are unrecognisably distorted. Here we present two new ways to unscramble this light and recover images. Firstly, we describe a new in-situ calibration technique requiring access to only the input end of the fibre promising a way to image through flexible fibres. Secondly, we describe the design of a new optical element - an 'optical inverter' - that can unscramble all modes in parallel, offering the potential of single-shot and super-resolution imaging through MMFs.

Automated summary

Hair-thin strands of multimode optical fibre (MMF) can be used as endoscopes to capture subcellular resolution images from deep inside the body. However, the images transmitted through MMFs are distorted and unrecognizable. This study presents two new methods to recover the images by calibrating the fibre's input end and designing an optical inverter to unscramble all modes simultaneously.