A physics-defined recurrent neural network to compute coherent light wave scattering on the millimetre scale

Abstract

Heterogeneous materials such as biological tissue scatter light in random, yet deterministic, ways. Wavefront shaping can reverse the effects of scattering to enable deep-tissue microscopy. Such methods require either invasive access to the internal field or the ability to numerically compute it. However, calculating the coherent field on a scale relevant to microscopy remains excessively demanding for consumer hardware. Here we show how a recurrent neural network can mirror Maxwell's equations without training. By harnessing public machine learning infrastructure, such \emph{Scattering Network} can compute the $633\;\textrm{nm}$-wavelength light field throughout a $25\;\textrm{mm}^2$ or $176^3\;\mu\textrm{m}^3$ scattering volume. The elimination of the training phase cuts the calculation time to a minimum and, importantly, it ensures a fully deterministic solution, free of any training bias. The integration with an open-source electromagnetic solver enables any researcher with an internet connection to calculate complex light-scattering in volumes that are larger by two orders of magnitude