Deep Learning Enabled Transmission of Full-Stokes Polarization Images Through Complex Media

Abstract

Polarization images offer crucial functionalities across multiple scientific domains, providing access to physical information beyond conventional measures such as intensity, phase, and spectrum of light. However, the challenge of transmitting polarization images through complex media has restricted their application in optical communication and imaging. Here, a novel approach utilizing deep learning for the transmission of full-Stokes polarization images through scattering media is presented. It is demonstrated that any input polarization image can be reconstructed in a single shot by employing only an intensity sensor. By supervised training of a deep neural network, high-accuracy full-Stokes reconstruction is achieved from the speckle pattern detected by an intensity camera. Leveraging the deep learning based polarization decoder, a polarization-colored encoding scheme is devised to enable increased-capacity data transmission through disordered channels. Fast, wavelength-independent, on-chip, polarization imaging in complex media enables the utilization of polarization-structured light in multimode fibres and opaque materials, unlocking new possibilities in optical communication, cryptography, and quantum technology.