A means for improving the performance of remote sensing and communication systems that rely on electromagnetic- or acoustic-wave propagation but must contend with wave reflections, diffraction, and scattering. In particular, for applications of remote sensing—including radar, sonar, biomedical imaging, and nondestructive evaluation—the main intent is the detection, localization, and identification of distant objects or features that either scatter or generate electromagnetic or acoustic waves. Although the disparity in objectives between military-radar and ultrasonic-imaging systems may be considerable, they have in common that random wave scattering and diffraction tend to limit the accuracy and confidence with which such systems can be used and the distances over which such systems can operate. For radar and sonar, turbulence and wave motions in the ocean or atmosphere, or rough terrestrial or ocean surfaces, may cause such random wave scattering and diffraction. In ultrasonic remote sensing, the random scattering and diffraction may be caused by grain structure within metals or by variations between and within tissues.