Light Field Research Articles

Manipulating terahertz guided wave excitation with Fabry-Perot cavity–assisted metasurfaces

Metasurfaces are emerging as powerful tools for manipulating complex light fields, offering enhanced control in free space and on-chip waveguide applications. Their ability to customize refractive indices and dispersion properties opens up new possibilities in light guiding, yet their efficiency in exciting guided waves, particularly through metallic structures, is not fully explored. Here, we present a new method for exciting terahertz (THz) guided waves using Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity-assisted metasurfaces that enable spin-selective directional coupling and mode selection. Our design uses a substrate-free ridge silicon THz waveguide with air cladding and a supporting slab, incorporating placed metallic metasurfaces to exploit their unique interaction with the guided waves. With the silicon thin layer and air serving as an FP cavity, THz waves enter from the bottom of the device, thereby intensifying the impact of the metasurfaces. The inverse-structured complementary metasurface could enhance excitation performance. We demonstrate selective excitation of TE00 and TE10 modes with directional control, confirmed through simulations and experimental validations using a THz vector network analyzer (VNA) system. This work broadens the potential of metasurfaces for advanced THz waveguide technologies.

How color profile affects the visual quality in light field rendering and novel view synthesis

How color profile affects the visual quality in light field rendering and novel view synthesis

A flat-top arrayed waveguide grating base on cascading ‘A’ shape multimode interference

Today, large bandwidth is required to increase data transmission speeds, this requires an optimized design of the photonic devices. To achieve increasing bandwidth in the wavelength division multiplexing device’s arrayed waveguide grating (AWG). We have cascaded a special ‘A’ shape multimode interference (MMI) structure at the end of the input waveguide. ‘A’ shape structure is better able to get the ideal light field distribution, making the flattening effect more perfect. The ‘A’ shape MMI is designed by the linear spreading equation, the structure of the MMI can be easily and conveniently manufactured in a practical application. Simulation results show that increasing the 1 dB bandwidth to 0.7 nm and the 3 dB bandwidth to 1.6 ± 0.2 nm, the insertion loss is measured at 3.5 ± 0.3 dB, and the channel crosstalk is below −30 dB. It paves the path to achieve increasing bandwidth of AWG.

Efficient high-resolution fluorescence projection imaging over an extended depth of field through optical hardware and deep learning optimizations

Optical microscopy has witnessed notable advancements but has also become more costly and complex. Conventional wide field microscopy (WFM) has low resolution and shallow depth-of-field (DOF), which limits its applications in practical biological experiments. Recently, confocal and light sheet microscopy become major workhorses for biology that incorporate high-precision scanning to perform imaging within an extended DOF but at the sacrifice of expense, complexity, and imaging speed. Here, we propose deep focus microscopy, an efficient framework optimized both in hardware and algorithm to address the tradeoff between resolution and DOF. Our deep focus microscopy achieves large-DOF and high-resolution projection imaging by integrating a deep focus network (DFnet) into light field microscopy (LFM) setups. Based on our constructed dataset, deep focus microscopy features a significantly enhanced spatial resolution of ∼260 nm, an extended DOF of over 30 µm, and broad generalization across diverse sample structures. It also reduces the computational costs by four orders of magnitude compared to conventional LFM technologies. We demonstrate the excellent performance of deep focus microscopy in vivo, including long-term observations of cell division and migrasome formation in zebrafish embryos and mouse livers at high resolution without background contamination.

Broadband wavelength designable achromatic grating based on a cholesteric liquid crystal template

Liquid crystal (LC) gratings have played important roles in light field control due to the advantages of being lightweight, low cost, having no moving parts, and low power consumption. However, the chromatic aberration limits the bandwidth of the LC device and affects the efficiency of the grating. To solve the chromatic aberration issue, a broadband wavelength designable achromatic grating is proposed. Different grating structures are integrated into a single-layer templated cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) device, and the achromatic diffraction wavelength of the grating can be freely designed from the visible spectral region to the infrared range within the Bragg reflection band of the CLCs. The diffraction intensity of different orders can be changed with the electric field applied to meet the need for dynamic modulation. This grating shows suitable potential applications in optical communication and displays.

Analysis of the Polarization Distribution and Spin Angular Momentum of the Interference Field Obtained by Co-Planar Beams with Linear and Circular Polarization

Interference of two and four light beams with linear or circular polarization is studied analytically and numerically based on the Richards–Wolf formalism. We consider such characteristics of the interference fields as the distribution of intensity, polarization, and spin angular momentum density. The generation of light fields with 1D and 2D periodic structure of both intensity and polarization is demonstrated. We can control the periodic structure both by changing the polarization state of the interfering beams and by changing the numerical aperture of focusing. We consider examples with a basic configuration, as well as those with a certain symmetry in the polarization state of the interfering beams. In some cases, increasing the numerical aperture of the focusing system significantly affects the generated distributions of both intensity and polarization. Experimental results, obtained using a polarization video camera, are in good agreement with the simulation results. The considered light fields can be used in laser processing of thin films of photosensitive (as well as polarization-sensitive) materials in order to create arrays of various ordered nano- and microstructures.

Light field angular super resolution based on residual channel attention and classification up-sampling

Light field angular super resolution based on residual channel attention and classification up-sampling

EAT: epipolar-aware Transformer for low-light light field enhancement

EAT: epipolar-aware Transformer for low-light light field enhancement

Real-time decomposition technique for compressive light field display using the multiplex correlations

How to compress and decompose the high-dimensional light field information in real time is still a challenging task for compressive light field display. Traditional iterative algorithms suffer from slow convergence speed and limited image quality. Therefore, a real-time decomposition technique for compressive light field display using multiplex correlations is proposed. Firstly, the iteration initial value of the algorithm is optimized, by utilizing the spatial correlations of pixel multiplex light fields, which significantly improves the convergence speed and reduces noise. Secondly, the iterative task of high-dimensional matrix in the non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithm is divided into highly parallel linear iterative tasks. A stochastic gradient descent (SGD) optimizer and GPU are used to parallel compress and decompose the light fields. Thirdly, addresses of light field data are reordered using the sign distance field (SDF) transformation in sheared camera frustum space, making the addressing process of compression and decomposition more efficient. A rendering pipeline is constructed that renders the compressive light fields using 3D model data directly. For a light field containing 5 × 5 viewpoints and 1024 × 1024 × 2 pixels, only 2-3 iterations are needed to approach the optimal solution. The decomposition efficiency is increased by 15.24 times. The frame rate of decomposition exceeds 30 frames per second (fps). A compressive light field display system has been built to realize 3D display, verifying the feasibility of the technique.

Light field image super-resolution based on dual learning and deep Fourier channel attention

Light field (LF) imaging has gained significant attention in the field of computational imaging due to its unique capability to capture both spatial and angular information of a scene. In recent years, super-resolution (SR) techniques based on deep learning have shown considerable advantages in enhancing LF image resolution. However, the inherent challenges of obtaining rich structural information and reconstructing complex texture details persist, particularly in scenarios where spatial and angular information are intricately interwoven. This Letter introduces a novel, to the best of our knowledge, approach for Disentangling LF Image SR Network (DLISN) by leveraging the synergy of dual learning and Fourier channel attention (FCA) mechanisms. Dual learning strategies are employed to enhance reconstruction results, addressing limitations in model generalization caused by the difficulty in acquiring paired datasets in real-world LF scenarios. The integration of FCA facilitates the extraction of high-frequency information associated with different structures, contributing to improved spatial resolution. Experimental results consistently demonstrate superior performance in enhancing the resolution of LF images.

Squeezed light from an oscillator measured at the rate of oscillation.

Sufficiently fast continuous measurements of the position of an oscillator approach measurements projective on position eigenstates. We evidence the transition into the projective regime for a spin oscillator within an ensemble of 2 × 1010 room-temperature atoms by observing correlations between the quadratures of the meter light field. These correlations squeeze the fluctuations of one light quadrature below the vacuum level. When the measurement is slower than the oscillation, we generate and detect of squeezing in a tunable band that is a fraction of the resonance frequency. When the measurement is as fast as the oscillation, we detect 4.7 dB of squeezing that spans more than one decade of frequencies below the resonance. Our results demonstrate a new regime of continuous quantum measurements on material oscillators, and set a new benchmark for the performance of a linear quantum sensor.

Generalized Optical Sum Rules for Light-Dressed Matter.

Light-driven matter can exhibit qualitatively distinct electronic and optical properties from those observed at equilibrium. We introduce generalized sum rules for the optical properties of light-driven molecules. Both classical and quantum light are considered. For classical light, the Floquet sum rules show that the sum of all Fourier components, indexed by n = -∞ to ∞, of the time-dependent dipole matrix elements between Floquet modes weighted by the corresponding quasienergy difference in the first Floquet Brillouin zone plus n driving frequency is a constant. Surprisingly, it is impossible to alter the energy exchange rate between matter and a perturbative external probe laser by a strong driving, even though the spectra can differ significantly from the bare ones. These developments provide guidance for the control of effective optical properties of matter by light fields.

Partially coherent Pearcey–Gauss source with hyperbolic sine correlation of the spatial spectrum

By designing the intricate coherence structure, we are able to create a desired beam profile and trajectory. Our research focus lies on the Fourier plane, specifically emphasizing the coherence of spatial frequencies, and we find it can be seen as a constant system response. A theoretical framework is developed, and experimental studies are conducted to generate a light field of the spatial spectrum with a complex correlation using the pseudo-mode superposition method. We successfully produce partially coherent Pearcey–Gauss beams whose spatial spectrum is hyperbolic sine correlational. Interestingly, these beams maintain the distinctive propagation properties of the Pearcey pattern while exhibiting the remarkable ability to split the mainlobe into two separate lobes.

Flexible wafer-scale bifunctional metasurface based on nanoimprinting

Metasurfaces have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in manipulating light fields across diverse applications. However, current research tends to examine these functionalities in isolation, prompting a growing interest in integrating different functionalities within a singular metasurface device. In this paper, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a bifunctional metasurface capable of providing concealment and sensing functions simultaneously. Specifically, the proposed nanostructure effectively operates as a one-way mirror, exhibiting an average reflection rate of approximately 90% under external illumination, alongside an absorption rate of 87.9% from the opposite direction of incidence. This functionality renders it suitable for privacy-enhancing building windows. Meanwhile, this nanostructure also integrates liquid sensing capabilities boasting a sensitivity of 464 nm/RIU, which is particularly valuable for monitoring liquid-based corrosion. The experimental performance of the prepared 6-inch nanohole-patterned metasurface closely aligns with the simulations, and the utilization of flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, coupled with nanoimprint lithography technology, enables a direct and cost-effective manufacturing process that can be scaled up for widespread applications.

Dispersion-assisted high-dimensional photodetector.

Intensity, polarization and wavelength are intrinsic characteristics of light. Characterizing light with arbitrarily mixed information on polarization and spectrum is in high demand1-4. Despite the extensive efforts in the design of polarimeters5-18 and spectrometers19-27, concurrently yielding high-dimensional signatures of intensity, polarization and spectrum of the light fields is challenging and typically requires complicated integration of polarization- and/orwavelength-sensitive elements in the space or time domains. Here we demonstrate that simple thin-film interfaces with spatial and frequency dispersion can project and tailor polarization and spectrum responses in the wavevector domain. By this means, high-dimensional light information can be encoded into single-shot imaging and deciphered with the assistance of a deep residual network. To the best of our knowledge, our work not only enables full characterization of light with arbitrarily mixed full-Stokes polarization states across a broadband spectrum with a single device and a single measurement but also presents comparable, if not better, performance than state-of-the-art single-purpose miniaturized polarimeters or spectrometers. Our approach can be readily used as an alignment-free retrofit for the existing imaging platforms, opening up new paths to ultra-compact and high-dimensional photodetection and imaging.

Vignetting Compensation Method for CMOS Camera Based on LED Spatial Array

To solve the problem of pixel light intensity information distortion caused by camera vignetting in optical devices such as CMOS or CCD cameras, existing studies mainly focus on small spatial light fields and point light sources and adopt an integrating sphere and function model for vignetting correction, but it is not suitable for large LED optical composite display devices. Under this background, this paper innovatively proposes a camera vigneting compensation method based on an LED spatial array, independently develops a two-dimensional translation device driven by a high-precision guide rail, uses spatial array technology to obtain the brightness distribution of the corrected display screen to quantify its camera vigneting distortion characteristics, and adopts systematic mathematical operations and iterative compensation strategies. Industry standard tests show that the brightness uniformity of the display has been improved by 5.06%. The above research results have been applied to mass production and industrialization.

Low-sampling high-quality Hadamard and Fourier single-pixel imaging through automated optimization neural network

In this manuscript, an automated optimization neural network is applied in Hadamard single-pixel imaging (H-SPI) and Fourier single-pixel imaging (F-SPI) to improve the imaging quality at low sampling ratios which is called AO-Net. By projecting Hadamard or Fourier basis illumination light fields onto the object, a single-pixel detector is used to collect the reflected light intensities from object. The one-dimensional detection values are fed into the designed AO-Net, and the network can automatically optimize. Finally, high-quality images are output through multiple iterations without pre-training and datasets. Numerical simulations and experiments demonstrate that AO-Net outperforms other existing widespread methods for both binary and grayscale images at low sampling ratios. Specially, the Structure Similarity Index Measure value of the binary reconstructed image can reach more than 0.95 when the sampling ratio is less than 3%. Therefore, AO-Net holds great potential for applications in the fields of complex environment imaging and moving object imaging.

Generating real-scene hologram through light field imaging and deep learning

Abstract Addressing the challenge of acquiring holograms from real-world scenes, this study introduces a novel approach leveraging light field cameras to capture light field data, which is subsequently transformed into authentic scene holograms. This methodology integrates light field imaging technology with a pre-trained deep neural network. To compensate for the limitations inherent in camera hardware, a super-resolution algorithm is employed. The conversion of light field information into RGB-D data facilitates its input into the deep neural network, enabling the inference of corresponding real-world scene holograms. Empirical evidence demonstrates that the system is capable of inferring high-resolution (1920×1080) real-world scene holograms within a timeframe of 5 seconds, utilizing hardware comprising an NVIDIA RTX 3060.

Coexistence of varied intensities, phases, and polarization states along the direction of beam propagation

Polarization state, as one of the fundamental properties of light fields, has found widespread applications across various domains. The control of intensity, phase, and polarization state along the direction of beam propagation has opened up new avenues for beams. In this work, we generated a beam in which different intensities, phases, and polarization states can simultaneously appear at different positions along the direction of beam propagation. In other words, varied intensities, phases, and polarization states can coexist in the direction of beam propagation. The correctness of this method is validated through theoretical analysis and experimental results. This approach expands the application scope of light beams and provides a favorable path for exploring the optical characteristics of beams.

When Structured Light Encounters Liquid Crystals

AbstractStructured light refers to the light field tailored by various degrees of freedom including intensity, phase, and polarization states in both spatial and temporal domains, which may greatly vitalize the technologies in both optics, such as the next‐generation optical communication as well as subwavelength imaging and the materials science in both fabrication and characterization. The structured characteristics of the structure light need materials also with structured optical properties that can generate or manipulate structured light in a straightforward way, which can be well satisfied by liquid crystals, a soft mater that can self‐assemble into tunable ordered structures through external stimuli. This review summarizes the research progress of the liquid crystal‐based devices used in structured light generations and modulations, including the well‐established techniques in the market, like the spatial light modulator, q‐plate and the liquid crystal integrated optical metasurfaces. Especially, light‐matter interactions are discussed from the topological view of both the structured light and the liquid crystal structures. Such a perfect matching in topology makes the liquid crystal a promising star together with structured light in future optic and photonic technologies.