Long-range correlations play an essential role in wave transport through disordered media, but have rarely been studied in other complex systems. Here we discover spatio-temporal intensity correlations for an optical pulse propagating through a multimode fiber with strong random mode coupling. Positive long-range correlation arises from multiple scattering in fiber mode space and depends on the statistical distribution of arrival times. By optimizing the incident wavefront of a pulse, we maximize the power transmitted at a selected time, and such control is significantly enhanced by the long-range spatio-temporal correlation. We provide an explicit relation between the correlation and the power enhancement, which agrees with experimental results. Our work shows that multimode fibers provide a fertile ground for studying complex wave phenomena. The strong spatio-temporal correlation can be employed for efficient power delivery at a well-defined time.
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Multimode fibers are explored widely for optical communication, spectroscopy, imaging, and sensing applications. Here we demonstrate a single-shot full-field temporal measurement technique based on a multimode fiber. The complex spatiotemporal speckle field is created by a reference pulse propagating through the fiber, and it interferes with a signal pulse. From the time-integrated interference pattern, both the amplitude and the phase of the signal are retrieved. The simplicity and high sensitivity of our scheme illustrate the potential of multimode fibers as versatile and multi-functional sensors.
