Diffraction-Unlimited Imaging Based on Conventional Optical Devices

Nicolas Ducros (1) , Aurélien Bourquard (2, 3)

1 Imagerie Tomographique et Radiothérapie
2 RLE - Research Laboratory of Electronics [Cambridge]
3 UPM - Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

We propose a computational paradigm where off-the-shelf optical devices can be used to image objects in a scene well beyond their native optical resolution. By design, our approach is generic, does not require active illumination, and is applicable to several types of optical devices. It only requires the placement of a spatial light modulator some distance from the optical system. In this paper, we first introduce the acquisition strategy together with the reconstruction framework. We then conduct practical experiments with a webcam that confirm that this approach can image objects with substantially enhanced spatial resolution compared to the performance of the native optical device. We finally discuss potential applications, current limitations, and future research directions.

Domaines: Optique / photonique; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]

Nicolas Ducros, Aurélien Bourquard. Diffraction-Unlimited Imaging Based on Conventional Optical Devices. Optics Express, 2020, 28 (8), pp.11243. ⟨10.1364/OE.388084⟩. ⟨hal-02314422v3⟩