Systems and methods for imaging using a random laser

A complex laser with tunable spatial coherence in an imaging system, comprising:

• an excitation medium;
• and
• an excitation source for pumping the excitation medium,
• wherein the complex laser is a chaotic cavity laser having a cavity and is adapted to be reconfigured by (i) adjusting the mean free path through adjusting a refractive index of at least one of (1) a background material in the excitation medium or (2) scattering elements in the excitation medium or (ii) adjusting of a shape of the cavity to adjust a degree of cavity chaoticity to form a speckle-free image of an object in response to an interaction of electromagnetic radiation generated by the complex laser and the object,
• wherein the complex laser has a mutual coherence of less than one tenth and a photon degeneracy of greater than 102.

An active interrogation imaging system, the imaging system comprising:

• a complex laser having a mutual coherence of less than one tenth and a photon degeneracy of greater than 102 that produces a plurality of independent lasing modes with uncorrelated phase relationships and distinct spatial output patterns in response to being pumped;
• and
• one or more detectors that detect an image of an object in response to interrogation of the object by the plurality of independent lasing modes with distinct spatial output patterns,
• wherein the plurality of independent lasing modes with distinct spatial output patterns of the complex laser in response to being pumped has a controlled degree of spatial coherence and the image detected by the one or more detectors in response to the controlled degree of spatial coherence is free of speckle,
• wherein the complex laser is adapted to enable (i) adjusting a mean free path by adjusting a concentration of scattering elements in an excitation medium and (ii) adjusting of a shape of the cavity to adjust a degree of cavity chaoticity.