Generalized optical memory effect

The optical memory effect is a well-known type of tilt/tilt wave correlation that is observed in coherent fields, allowing control over scattered light through thin and diffusive materials. Here we show that the optical memory effect is a special case of a more general class of combined shift/tilt correlations occurring in media of arbitrary geometry. We experimentally demonstrate the existence of these correlations, and provide an analytical framework that allows us to predict and understand this class of scattering correlations. This generalized optical memory effect can be utilized for maximizing the imaging field-of-view of deep tissue imaging techniques such as phase conjugation and adaptive optics. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America