Advantages of holographic imaging through fog.

In this paper, we demonstrate digital holographic imaging through a 27-m-long fog tube filled with ultrasonically generated fog. Its high sensitivity makes holography a powerful technology for imaging through scattering media. With our large-scale experiments, we investigate the potential of holographic imaging for road traffic applications, where autonomous driving vehicles require reliable environmental perception in all weather conditions. We compare single-shot off-axis digital holography to conventional imaging (with coherent illumination) and show that holographic imaging requires 30 times less illumination power for the same imaging range. Our work includes signal-to-noise ratio considerations, a simulation model, and quantitative statements on the influence of various physical parameters on the imaging range.

LED based large field of view off-axis quantitative phase contrast microscopy by hologram multiplexing.

In this manuscript, we describe the development of a single shot, self-referencing wavefront division, multiplexing digital holographic microscope employing LED sources for large field of view quantitative phase imaging of biological samples. To address the difficulties arising while performing interferometry with low temporally coherent sources, an optical arrangement utilizing multiple Fresnel Biprisms is used for hologram multiplexing, enhancing the field of view and increasing the signal to noise ratio. Biprisms offers the ease of obtaining interference patterns by automatically matching the path length between the two off-axis beams. The use of low temporally coherent sources reduces the speckle noise and the cost, and the form factor of the setup. The developed technique was implemented using both visible and UV LEDs and tested on polystyrene microspheres and human erythrocytes.

Phase retrieval using 3D Fourier transforms of volume diffraction pattern.

In this Letter, we describe a method for retrieving the phase of a wavefield from a volume diffraction pattern. We show at first that the magnitude of the 3D Fourier transform of a diffracted volume wavefield is concentrated around a paraboloid. For the phase retrieval, we apply iteratively the constraints of the measured intensity and the paraboloid (sparsity) constraint in the 3D Fourier domain. Experimental validations and comparisons to other methods are presented.

Phase retrieval using bidirectional interference.

In this paper we describe a phase retrieval algorithm using constraints given by diffraction patterns and phase difference obtained from bidirectional interference. Wave propagation and linear phase ramps are used to connect the recordings. At least three patterns are recorded and processed (two diffraction patterns and one interference pattern). The quality of the results can be improved when recording and processing more patterns. The method works well with non-sparse samples and short (few millimeter) recording distances. Simulations, comparisons with other methods, and experimental validations are presented.

Generation of a high-resolution 3D-printed freeform collimator for VCSEL-based 3D-depth sensing.

This Letter discusses the generation of 3D-printed micro-optics to obtain the desired beam profile from a multimode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with a significantly reduced divergence angle via the usage of high-resolution two-photon polymerization. Due to the low cost and compact packaging, the VCSEL array is a novel light source for structured-light projection. Particularly for long-distance 3D sensing applications, a greatly reduced divergence angle ensures that a good signal with a sufficiently large number of photons can be recorded, and the projected illumination spots do not overlap. Therefore, exact laser beam characterization and appropriate physical modeling are required in accurate production of an optimal collimator lens. Furthermore, elliptical beam profiles with different orientations can solve the correspondence problem and improve the post-processing speed and robustness in structured light. To generate this special type of beam profile and verify the optical design process, this Letter describes thoroughly the optical prototyping process starting from the beam characterization, the optical design to the production of the two-photon polymerized optics, and its validation. The test of the beam profile and divergence confirm a good match of the produced optics with the physical optical simulation in Zemax. The collimator transforms the input laser beam divergence angle of 324 mrad to an output angle of 20 mrad only.

Diffraction-limited superresolution ptychography in the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld regime.

Superresolution in lensless near-field ptychography is demonstrated via the application of a strongly curved illumination function. The reconstruction is performed using the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction integral, which is implemented via a pixel-size adjustable angular spectrum method. In this manner, the reconstructed object details, which are not only smaller than the pixel size of the sensor but even smaller than the smallest resolvable object detail defined by the effective NA of the 2D sensor, are enabled. The expected resolution, as predicted by the angles of scatter present in the optical configuration, is experimentally validated using a US air force resolution test target. The approach discussed here is not limited to ptychography; it can be extended to other coherent diffractive imaging modalities such as object scanning holography or optical diffraction tomography, so as to enable high-resolution near-field quantitative phase imaging.

Spectral Object Recognition in Hyperspectral Holography with Complex-Domain Denoising.

In this paper, we have applied a recently developed complex-domain hyperspectral denoiser for the object recognition task, which is performed by the correlation analysis of investigated objects' spectra with the fingerprint spectra from the same object. Extensive experiments carried out on noisy data from digital hyperspectral holography demonstrate a significant enhancement of the recognition accuracy of signals masked by noise, when the advanced noise suppression is applied.

Light field endoscopy and its parametric description.

In this Letter, we demonstrate the application of light field imaging to endoscopy. By introducing a microlens array into the image plane of a conventional endoscope, the 4D light field can be captured in one snapshot. This information can be used to obtain perspective images and to digitally refocus to different planes. These features allow for the recovery of 3D information in minimally invasive surgery. Important optical setup and performance parameters are derived to enable task specific engineering of the light field imaging system.

Iterative phase retrieval based on variable wavefront curvature.

An alternative phase retrieval technique is discussed in this paper, which offers some advantages for the obtained resolution and reconstruction procedure. In contrast to commonly applied iterative phase retrieval routines, diffraction patterns with varying distance between the illumination source and the object are recorded. This has the same effect as changing the object sensor distance, albeit offering the advantage of preserving the resolution. Moreover, it is possible to employ the direct Fresnel propagation method without having to worry about different pixel sizes in the reconstruction plane. In addition, the influence of speckle decorrelation has carefully been studied and considered for the experimental implementation.

Pixel size adjustment in coherent diffractive imaging within the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld regime.

The reconstruction of the smallest resolvable object detail in digital holography and coherent diffractive imaging when the detector is mounted close to the object of interest is restricted by the sensor's pixel size. Very high resolution information is intrinsically encoded in the data because the effective numerical aperture (NA) of the detector (its solid angular size as subtended at the object plane) is very high. The correct physical propagation model to use in the reconstruction process for this setup should be based on the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction integral, which is commonly implemented via a convolution operation. However, the convolution operation has the drawback that the pixel size of the propagation calculation is preserved between the object and the detector, and so the maximum resolution of the reconstruction is limited by the detector pixel size, not its effective NA. Here we show that this problem can be overcome via the introduction of a numerical spherical lens with adjustable magnification. This approach enables the reconstruction of object details smaller than the detector pixel size or of objects that extend beyond the size of the detector. It will have applications in all forms of near-field lensless microscopy.

Optical parameters and space-bandwidth product optimization in digital holographic microscopy.

This paper considers some of the most important optical parameters that characterize a digital holographic microscope (DHM) and presents their mathematical derivation based on geometrical and diffraction-based models. It supports and justifies the use of the out-of-focus recording of holograms by showing that the field of view can be increased when recording the hologram in front of the in-focus image plane. In this manner a better match between the space-bandwidth product (SBP) of the microscope objective and that of the reconstructed hologram can be obtained. Hence, DHM offers a more cost-efficient way to increase the recorded SBP compared to the application of a high-quality microscope objective (large numerical aperture and low magnification) used in conventional microscopy. Furthermore, an expression for the imaging distance (distance between hologram and image plane), while maintaining the optical resolution and sufficient sampling, is obtained. This expression takes into account all kinds of reference-wave curvature and can easily be transferred to lensless digital holography. In this context it could be demonstrated that an object wave matched reference wave offers a significantly smaller imaging distance and hence the largest recoverable SBP. In addition, a new, to our knowledge, approach, based on the influence of defocus on the modulation transfer function, is used to derive the depth of field (DOF) for a circular aperture (lens-based system) and a rectangular aperture (lensless system), respectively. This investigation leads to the finding that a rectangular aperture offers an increased resolution combined with an increased DOF, when compared to a circular aperture of the same size.

Filtering role of the sensor pixel in Fourier and Fresnel digital holography.

Digital holography is a modern imaging technique whereby a propagated object wave interferes with a known (spherical or plane) reference wave at a plane where a digital sensor is situated. The resulting intensity distribution is recorded by a CCD or CMOS sensor array to produce a digital hologram. This digital hologram can be processed in several ways to isolate the real image term. Using a propagation algorithm, the object wave can be numerically reconstructed from this real image term. Several factors limit the performance of such imaging systems, such as the finite extent of the sensor array and the finite size of the equally spaced sensor pixels, which average the light intensity incident upon them. Theoretical results indicate that in a Fresnel-based system the role of these finite-size pixels is to attenuate higher spatial frequencies by convolving the reconstructed signal with a rectangular function of equal size to the light-sensitive area of the pixel. However, when a spherical reference wave is used, as is the case with "lensless" Fourier-based systems, spatial frequencies will not be attenuated; rather it is the complex amplitude of the reconstructed signal that will be attenuated. In this manuscript we explore this question in more detail, providing new theoretical and experimental results. By assuming a fully developed speckle field for the object wave, we examine the first-order statistical distributions for the integrated intensity of the object wave, and the interference term, using numerical simulations. We show that the statistical distribution of the interference term can be changed, by varying the sphericity of the reference wave. Experimental results are provided where we compare the performance of a Fresnel and Fourier holographic system as a function of pixel size.

Coherence requirement in digital holography.

In this paper the coherence requirement for different holographic setups (Fresnel hologram, Fourier hologram, and image-plane hologram) is compared. This analysis is based on the investigation of the recorded interference pattern from the superposition of reference wave and object wave in in-line and off-axis mode. The outcome of this investigation can support the choice of light source needed for certain digital holographic setups, as well as the selection of the best applicable setup to take advantage of new short coherence light sources. Moreover, as a byproduct of this investigation, the minimum required recording distance (focal length) to enable Nyquist sampling of the recorded hologram is obtained.

Quantitative phase contrast optimised cancerous cell differentiation via ptychography.

This paper shows that visible-light ptychography can be used to distinguish quantitatively between healthy and tumorous unstained cells. Advantages of ptychography in comparison to conventional phase-sensitive imaging techniques are highlighted. A novel procedure to automatically refocus ptychographic reconstructions is also presented, which improves quantitative analysis.

Quantitative space-bandwidth product analysis in digital holography.

The space-bandwidth product (SBP) is a measure for the information capacity an optical system possesses. The two information processing steps in digital holography, recording, and reconstruction are analyzed with respect to the SBP. The recording setups for a Fresnel hologram, Fourier hologram, and image-plane hologram, which represent the most commonly used setup configurations in digital holography, are investigated. For the recording process, the required SBP to ensure the recording of the entire object information is calculated. This is accomplished by analyzing the recorded interference pattern in the hologram-plane. The paraxial diffraction model is used in order to simulate the light propagation from the object to hologram-plane. The SBP in the reconstruction process is represented by the product of the reconstructed field-of-view and spatial frequency bandwidth. The outcome of this analysis results in the best SBP adapted digital holographic setup.

Analysis and interpretation of the Seidel aberration coefficients in digital holography.

The most commonly used configurations in digital holography-namely Fourier holograms, Fresnel holograms, and image-plane holograms-are analyzed with respect to Seidel's wave aberration theory. This analysis is performed by taking into account the phase terms involved in the recording and reconstruction processes. The combined phase term from both processes is compared with the Gaussian-reference sphere, from which the wave aberration terms can be obtained. In conjunction with the analysis, for each of the aberration terms, conditions can be set to eliminate them. Wave aberrations are plotted to show how strongly different setups are affected.

High-resolution digital holography utilized by the subpixel sampling method.

A novel (to our knowledge) approach for resolution improvement in digital holography is presented in this paper. The proposed method is based on recording the incoming interference field on a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera with subpixel resolution. The method takes advantage of the small pixel size of the CMOS sensor, while overcoming the reduced fill factor. This paper describes the experimental and numerical procedures. The improvement of the obtainable optical resolution, image quality, and phase measurement accuracy are demonstrated within this paper.

High resolution digital holographic synthetic aperture applied to deformation measurement and extended depth of field method.

This paper discusses the potential of the synthetic-aperture method in digital holography to increase the resolution, to perform high accuracy deformation measurement, and to obtain a three-dimensional topology map. The synthetic aperture method is realized by moving the camera with a motorized x-y stage. In this way a greater sensor area can be obtained resulting in a larger numerical aperture (NA). A larger NA enables a more detailed reconstruction combined with a smaller depth of field. The depth of field can be increased by applying the extended depth of field method, which yields an in-focus reconstruction of all longitudinal object regions. Moreover, a topology map of the object can be obtained.

Development and verification of a snapshot dental intraoral three-dimensional scanner based on chromatic confocal imaging.

We describe the development and verification of an optical, powder-free, intraoral scanner based on a chromatic confocal imaging system, which has been realized in a single-shot multifocal approach. The system is based on a combination of micro-optical and dispersion optical elements. The methodology of recording and analyzing the acquired data are discussed in detail. A proof of concept with the application in intraoral scanning is provided. According to the current findings, the measurement uncertainty, scan speed, and overall performance of the device can well compete with the state-of-the-art of commercially available intraoral scanners.

Soft tissue elastography via shearing interferometry.

Early detection of cancer can significantly increase the survival chances of patients. Palpation is a traditional method in order to detect cancer; however, in minimally invasive surgery the surgeon is deprived of the sense of touch. We demonstrate how shearing elastography can recover elastic parameters and furthermore can be used to localize stiffness imhomogenities even if hidden underneath the surface. Furthermore, the influence of size and depth of the stiffness imhomogenities on the detection accuracy and localization is investigated.