Abstract
We review the advancement of the research toward the design and implementation of quantum plenoptic cameras, radically novel 3D imaging devices that exploit both momentum–position entanglement and photon–number correlations to provide the typical refocusing and ultra-fast, scanning-free, 3D imaging capability of plenoptic devices, along with dramatically enhanced performances, unattainable in standard plenoptic cameras: diffraction-limited resolution, large depth of focus, and ultra-low noise. To further increase the volumetric resolution beyond the Rayleigh diffraction limit, and achieve the quantum limit, we are also developing dedicated protocols based on quantum Fisher information. However, for the quantum advantages of the proposed devices to be effective and appealing to end-users, two main challenges need to be tackled. First, due to the large number of frames required for correlation measurements to provide an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio, quantum plenoptic imaging (QPI) would require, if implemented with commercially available high-resolution cameras, acquisition times ranging from tens of seconds to a few minutes. Second, the elaboration of this large amount of data, in order to retrieve 3D images or refocusing 2D images, requires high-performance and time-consuming computation. To address these challenges, we are developing high-resolution single-photon avalanche photodiode (SPAD) arrays and high-performance low-level programming of ultra-fast electronics, combined with compressive sensing and quantum tomography algorithms, with the aim to reduce both the acquisition and the elaboration time by two orders of magnitude. Routes toward exploitation of the QPI devices will also be discussed.
Highlights
Fast, high-resolution, and low-noise 3D imaging is highly required in the most diverse fields, from space imaging to biomedical microscopy, security, industrial inspection, and cultural heritage [1,2,3,4,5]
Quantum plenoptic cameras promise to offer the advantages of plenoptic imaging, primarily ultrafast and scanning-free 3D imaging and refocusing capability, with performances that are beyond reach for the classical counterpart
In a quantum plenoptic imaging (QPI) device integrated with SwissSPAD2, the acquired data rate for a single frame acquisition can be estimated to 26 Gb/s, which is beyond the reach of standard data buses
Summary
High-resolution, and low-noise 3D imaging is highly required in the most diverse fields, from space imaging to biomedical microscopy, security, industrial inspection, and cultural heritage [1,2,3,4,5]. The paper is organized as follows: in Section 2, we discuss the working principle and recent advances of Correlation Plenoptic Imaging (CPI), a technique that represents the direct forerunner of QPI; in Section 3, we present the hardware innovations currently investigated to reduce the acquisition times in CPI; in Section 4, we review the algorithmic solutions to improve QPI; in Section 5, we outline the perspectives of our future work in the context of Qu3D project; in Section 6, we discuss the relevance of our research. Imaging at high speed and high resolution” (Qu3D), founded by the 2019 QuantERA call [31]
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