Abstract
Diffractive optical elements can be realized as ultra-thin plates that offer significantly reduced footprint and weight compared to refractive elements. However, such elements introduce severe chromatic aberrations and are not variable, unless used in combination with other elements in a larger, reconfigurable optical system. We introduce numerically optimized encoded phase masks in which different optical parameters such as focus or zoom can be accessed through changes in the mechanical alignment of a ultra-thin stack of two or more masks. Our encoded diffractive designs are combined with a new computational approach for self-calibrating imaging (blind deconvolution) that can restore high-quality images several orders of magnitude faster than the state of the art without pre-calibration of the optical system. This co-design of optics and computation enables tunable, full-spectrum imaging using thin diffractive optics.
Highlights
Diffractive optical elements can be realized as ultra-thin plates that offer significantly reduced footprint and weight compared to refractive elements
Diffractive optical elements (DOEs) in particular are an interesting replacement for complex imaging systems
We instead reformulate the design problem as a matrix factorization problem, whereby a general target transmission function is represented as a matrix that can encode all possible geometric alignments between the DOEs since it contains an entry for every combination of pixels on the first and second DOE
Summary
Diffractive optical elements can be realized as ultra-thin plates that offer significantly reduced footprint and weight compared to refractive elements. Examples include cubic phase plates for extended depth of field imaging[9], DOEs producing double-helix PSFs10 for single-molecule microscopy beyond the diffraction limit, phase microscopy[11], coded amplitude masks instead of lenses[12], and anti-symmetric gratings integrated with a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor to produce an ultra-miniature lens-less imager PicoCam[13,14,15] These approaches have demonstrated the possibility to develop imaging systems with reduced optical complexity by shifting the burden to computational reconstruction, the resulting systems exhibit little flexibility, such that refocusing or zooming are either not supported at all, or require tedious re-calibration.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
