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Super-resolution optical sensing is of critical importance in science and technology and has required prior information about an imaging system or obtrusive near-field probing. Additionally, coherent imaging and sensing in heavily scattering media such as biological tissue has been challenging, and practical approaches have either been restricted to measuring the field transmission of a single point source, or to where the medium is thin. We present the concept of far-subwavelength spatial sensing with relative object motion in speckle as a means to coherently sense through heavy scatter. Experimental results demonstrate the ability to distinguish nominally identical objects with nanometer-scale translation while hidden in randomly scattering media, without the need for precise or known location and with imprecise replacement. The theory and supportive illustrations presented provide the basis for super-resolution sensing and the possibility of virtually unlimited spatial resolution, including through thick, heavily scattering media with relative motion of an object in a structured field. This work provides enabling opportunities for material inspection, security, and biological sensing.
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This content will become publicly available on February 4, 2026
Localization and coherent imaging of hidden moving objects using laser speckle
Imaging and sensing of moving objects through opaque scattering media is a challenging but important problem in a variety of applications, including environmental sensing, biomedical imaging, and material inspection. We have previously demonstrated a technique to coherently image a moving object through thick, heavily scattering random media using correlations of speckle images as a function of the object’s spatial translation. Here, we demonstrate that this technique can be combined with localization to achieve imaging without prior knowledge of the object’s motion, greatly extending the application domain. This method is effective beyond the thin or weakly scattering regime and, rather than motion being deleterious, exploits the information available when the hidden object is moving, as could be the case in a cluttered terrestrial environment or through substantial levels of biological tissue scatter.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2131486
- PAR ID:
- 10570182
- Publisher / Repository:
- Optical Society of America
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Optics Letters
- Volume:
- 50
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0146-9592; OPLEDP
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: Article No. 1172
- Size(s):
- Article No. 1172
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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