Orthographic projection images-based photon-counted integral Fourier holography.

Unlike coherent imaging techniques, light field imaging uses incoherent (white light) illumination to generate a digital hologram of three-dimensional (3D) objects in real time. Multiple projections (or elemental images) of a 3D object are captured using a microlens array attached to a digital camera. Orthographic projection images (OPIs) can be synthesized from the recorded elemental images. The synthesized intensity-based OPIs are then multiplied by the corresponding phase functions and combined to form a digital hologram (also known as an integral hologram) of a 3D object under illumination. In this study, we analyze the performance of a synthesized integral hologram under low light imaging (photon-counting) conditions. The feasibility of this technique is verified experimentally by capturing the elemental images and subsequently generating orthographic projection images and by varying photon counts to reconstruct the digital holograms.

Measuring refractive index of glass by using speckle.

A method to measure the refractive index of an optically flat, regularly shaped slab of glass using speckle correlation-based techniques is reported. The intensity of the diffraction field of the diffuser is captured by a CCD both with and without the glass present. As the position of the peak correlation coefficient is quantitatively related to the change in optical path length arising due to the presence of the glass, the refractive index of the glass can be evaluated by cross-correlating the two captured images. The theoretical correlation function that describes the effects of such an optical path length change is discussed, and the resulting speckle decorrelation function derived. Two glass samples are measured to demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed technique.

Self-written waveguides in photopolymer.

Self-written waveguide (SWW) trajectories fabricated inside a dry photopolymer bulk material, acrylamide/polyvinyl alcohol (AA/PVA), are studied. Their production using both Gaussian and Laguerre-Gauss exposing (writing) light beams, output from optical fibers, is explored. The formation of the primary and secondary eyes is also discussed. Furthermore, the interactions that take place when two counterpropagating beams pass through the photopolymer material (both Gaussian and Laguerre-Gauss) are examined. In all cases experimental and theoretical results are presented. Good agreement between the predictions of the proposed model and experimental observations are demonstrated.

Low photon count based digital holography for quadratic phase cryptography.

Recently, the vulnerability of the linear canonical transform-based double random phase encryption system to attack has been demonstrated. To alleviate this, we present for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a method for securing a two-dimensional scene using a quadratic phase encoding system operating in the photon-counted imaging (PCI) regime. Position-phase-shifting digital holography is applied to record the photon-limited encrypted complex samples. The reconstruction of the complex wavefront involves four sparse (undersampled) dataset intensity measurements (interferograms) at two different positions. Computer simulations validate that the photon-limited sparse-encrypted data has adequate information to authenticate the original data set. Finally, security analysis, employing iterative phase retrieval attacks, has been performed.

Self-written waveguides in a dry acrylamide/polyvinyl alcohol photopolymer material.

For the first time it is demonstrated that permanent optical waveguides can be self-written in a solid acrylamide/polyvinyl alcohol photopolymer material. The novel (to our knowledge) technique used to prepare the polymeric medium used is described. It is demonstrated that the resulting waveguides formed can be used to guide different wavelengths. A standard theoretical model is used to predict both the evolution of the light intensity distribution and the channel formation inside the material during the exposure. The experimental results and the numerical simulations are compared, and good agreement is obtained.

Calibration of a digital in-line holographic microscopy system: depth of focus and bioprocess analysis.

Digital in-line holographic microscopy (DIHM) allows access to both intensity and phase information with conventional microscopic lateral resolutions. Such imaging techniques can, however, be used to increase the depth of focus compared to conventional compound microscopes. We present a simple DIHM capable of imaging weakly scattering 10 µm diameter microspheres as well as Hs578T cells over a depth of 1 mm; i.e., we demonstrate an increase by a factor of 100 over the depth of focus of a conventional microscope.

Dual wavelength digital holographic Laplacian reconstruction.

Access to the spatial derivatives of an optical wave field can be used to enhance edge detection, focusing, and holographic imaging. It was recently shown that, by using digital holographic techniques, the Laplacian of an object field can be extracted. Here it is demonstrated that equivalent results can be found using two holograms captured at either two distances or with two appropriately related wavelengths. Experimental and numerical results confirming the theoretical analyses are presented. The proposed two-wavelength-based system requires no mechanical repositioning of the object and is shown to provide superior performance.

Compact portable ocular microtremor sensor: design, development and calibration.

Ocular microtremor (OMT) is a physiological high-frequency (up to 150 Hz) low-amplitude (25-2500 nm peak-to-peak) involuntary motion of the human eye. Recent studies suggest a number of clinical applications for OMT that include monitoring the depth of anesthesia of a patient in surgery, prediction of outcome in coma, and diagnosis of brain stem death. Clinical OMT investigations to date have used mechanical piezoelectric probes or piezoelectric strain gauges that have many drawbacks which arise from the fact that the probe is in contact with the eye. We describe the design of a compact noncontact sensing device to measure OMT that addresses some of the above drawbacks. We evaluate the system performance using a calibrated piezoelectric vibrator that simulates OMT signals under conditions that can occur in practice, i.e., wet eye conditions. We also test the device at low light levels well within the eye safety range.

Simultaneous drift, microsaccades, and ocular microtremor measurement from a single noncontact far-field optical sensor.

We report on the combined far-field measurement of the three involuntary eye movements, drift, microsaccades, and ocular microtremor (OMT), using a noncontact far-field optical method. We review the significance of the smallest and least measured, and thus least understood, of the three, OMT. Using modern digital imaging techniques, we perform detailed analysis, present experimental results, and examine the extracted parameters using a noncontact far-field sensor. For the first time, in vivo noncontact measurements of all fixational in-plane movements of the human eye are reported, which simultaneously provide both the horizontal (left-right) and vertical (up-down) displacement results.

Lensless multispectral digital in-line holographic microscope.

An compact multispectral digital in-line holographic microscope (DIHM) is developed that emulates Gabor's original holographic principle. Using sources of varying spatial coherence (laser, LED), holographic images of objects, including optical fiber, latex microspheres, and cancer cells, are successfully captured and numerically processed. Quantitative measurement of cell locations and percentage confluence are estimated, and pseudocolor images are also presented. Phase profiles of weakly scattering cells are obtained from the DIHM and are compared to those produced by a commercially available off-axis digital holographic microscope.

Generalized in-line digital holographic technique based on intensity measurements at two different planes.

In-line digital holography based on two-intensity measurements [Zhang Opt. Lett. 29, 1787 (2004)], is modified by introducing a pi shifting in the reference phase. Such an improvement avoids the assumption that the object beam must be much weaker than the reference beam in strength and results in a simplified experimental implementation. Computer simulations and optical experiments are carried out to validate the method, which we refer to as position-phase-shifting digital holography.