Light incident on a material is scattered and then continues its propagation in seemingly random directions. If one can force light to pass through a material and not scatter, however, then one could “see” through the material. This scattering of light can be described as aberration within the light. A technique used for “Aberration Correction” is adding phase-shifts to regions of light allowing for all wave fronts of light to interfere in a constructive manner. This is accomplished in the use of a Spatial Light Modulator (SLM). The SLM, an array of linearly aligned crystals, allow for added phase shifts to light incident on the SLM. By shifting the phase of light, it is possible to allow light to pass through some material without having the light be scattered by the material. This case allows for one to “see” through the material, on account of the light passing through the material rather than being scattered by it. This technology has potential to be used for non-invasive surgeries as well as being a strong starting point for research into optical cloaking. If a procedure for allowing light to pass through a material is developed, then the procedure could be used for the purpose of Optical Cloaking. By expanding the region in which one “sees” through a material so that one encloses the entire material, one would cloak the entire material rather than “see” through some region of it. This procedure would have applications in both medical and military technology.
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