Comparative analysis of the resolving power of optoelectronic imaging systems upon incoherent and coherent illumination of objects

Results of calculations of the resolving power (according to Foucault) of optoelectronic imaging systems with incoherent and coherent illumination under the conditions of atmospheric phase distortions are presented. It is suggested that incoherent optical images are formed in the case of incoherent illumination and speckle images are formed in the case of coherent illumination. The shape of objects observed is estimated from these images. The resolving powers are shown to be practically the same in the formation of incoherent optical images and speckle images in the case of strong phase distortions and smoothing of images by a matrix photodetector. At the same time, the limiting resolving power in the formation of incoherent optical images is twice as large as in the formation of speckle images.     

Using diffractograms to evaluate optical systems with coherent illumination

A new approach to measuring aberrations of an optical system with coherent illumination is introduced. The optical system is evaluated by use of a so-called weak phase object and by digital image recording and processing. Based on the contrast transfer function theory for coherent systems, the main aberrations of the optical system can be determined. This is a convenient approach to evaluating and measuring complex optical systems with numerous optical elements after assembly and can serve as a simple performance test of an optical instrument in the field.     

部分相干光学成像系统的光学传递函数和像质评价准则

根据光学成像理论，建立了部分相干成像光学系统的光学传递函数。该函数与非相干成像光学系统传递函数相同，因而部分相干成像和非相干成像两者的光学系统波面像差公差标准也是相同的。这一点解释了显微镜光学系统的光学设计惯用法则：镜头像差公差标准的选择，并不因为采用成像照明方式的不同而有所差异。     

Supercontinuum laser illumination applied to traditional optical flow imaging methods

The schlieren method of refractive flow visualization traditionally requires non-coherent illumination in order to avoid problems with coherent artifact noise and binary cutoff by the knife-edge. Related shadowgraph and Wollaston-prism schlieren-interferometer methods, however, work well with light sources of high spatial coherence. Here we apply a supercontinuum laser as a light source for these methods, providing spatially coherent white-light illumination. Excellent results are obtained with shadowgraphy and schlieren-interferometry, but the schlieren method still requires a modified cutoff in place of the traditional knife-edge for laser illumination. Once they become widely available, supercontinuum lasers will find frequent use in these optical instruments, especially the schlieren-interferometer.     

Bayesian filtering of speckled images

Speckle noise arises in imaging systems that use coherent or partially coherent illumination. We demonstrate that such noise may be reduced by use of bayesian filters. The usual assumption that speckle noise is approximately equivalent to multiplicative image noise is replaced with an exact analysis.     

螺旋相位板参数对螺旋相衬成像系统性能影响研究

推导了相干照明下衍射受限螺旋相衬成像系统的成像公式,总结了影响螺旋相衬法成像效果的螺旋相位板参数,包括中心尺寸、整体尺寸以及台阶数。详细研究了各参数对螺旋相衬成像系统性能的影响,提出了各参数的合理取值范围,并通过实验验证了其正确性。所采用的计算方法,不仅可以用于研究螺旋相位板的设计,而且对于其他空间滤波器的设计同样具有参考价值。     

Suppression of multiplicative disturbance by coherent optical feedback technique

The transfer function of a coherent optical feedback system depends on an adjustable phase. This property is used to produce flexible filters. As an application, suppression of multiplicative noise in object information is shown.     

WDM网中同频串扰的研究

串扰是波分复用(WDM)光网络中限制光交叉连接(OXC)节点容量的一个重要因素.本文分析了相干和非相干串扰对通过OXC节点的光信号的影响,给出了固定和最佳判决门限两种情况下的光功率恶化,并进行了仿真计算.结果表明相干串扰对系统的影响很大.与固定判决相比,采用最佳判决可以降低串扰影响.串扰引起的光功率恶化主要取决于复用波数M,而与输入光纤数N关系不大.为了减小串扰对网络的限制,可以在OXC节点内使用滤波器.     

Full off-axis red-green-blue digital holographic microscope with LED illumination

We developed a new full off-axis red-green-blue (RGB) digital holographic microscope with an LED illumination. A decisive advantage of the use of LED illumination is a large image quality improvement due to its partially coherent nature. The off-axis configuration enables the fast recording of the holographic data in each spectral channel. The digital holographic refocusing and the optical phase map computation are successfully demonstrated. The multiwavelength operation provides a significant improvement of the collected information for colored samples.     

Spatially incoherent illumination as a mechanism for cross-talk suppression in wide-field optical coherence tomography

Comparison of two illumination modes for wide-field optical coherence tomography has revealed that spatially coherent illumination generates coherent cross talk, causing significant image degradation, and that spatially incoherent illumination, with an adequate interferometer design, provides an efficient mechanism for suppression of coherent cross talk. This is shown by comparison of a pulsed laser with a thermal light source for a U.S. Air Force resolution target covered with a scattering solution made from microbeads as well as for an ex vivo tooth.     

Influence of Partially Spatially Coherent Illumination on the Measurement of Two-dimensional Correlation Function

A coherent optical filtering is often applied to the measurement of correlation function of two-dimensional patterns. The present report treats the influence of spatial coherence on such an optical filtering. A general formula for optical filtering with partially spatially coherent illumination is obtained. The intensity distribution of correlation in the output image plane for several special cases is calculated, where different kinds of coherence conditions of illumination in the process of holographic recording of a filter, or of filtering are assumed. An experiment is performed to verify the theory.     

All optical microwave photonic filters with a round-trip configuration

We propose novel photonic microwave multi-tap filters using a section of Hi-Bi fiber in a round-trip configuration, together with their application in a 20 km single mode fiber (SMF) radio-over-fiber (RoF) link. We demonstrate for the first time that the effect of chromatic dispersion in these multi-tap filters can be reduced in an RoF link when a linearly chirped fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is adopted. This result can be used to combat radio frequency power fading in an RoF link. The configurations are free from optical coherent interference and phase noise. Measured results show 3-tap filters with notch rejections greater than 35 dB and suppression of the level of secondary sidelobes by adjusting a polarization controller. PACS 42.81.-I; 42.81.Gs; 07.50.Qx     

多模光纤产生用于大气光通信的部分相干光源

 克服大气湍流对近地大气光通信质量影响，可归结为在接收端的照明均匀化，而采用部分相干光照明则是提高照明均匀性的一种有效途径。提出利用多模光纤的模间色散产生一个具有部分相干光特性的合成光源的方法，分析了该光源的产生原理，表明光束发散角由光纤芯径和发射透镜的焦距决定，由模间色散产生的光程差越大，该合成光源的空间相干性越差。仿真结果表明形成1 mrad远场发散角的合成光源是可行的，因而适于在空间光通信中应用。     

Real-time recognition of microscopic phase objects

A method of image enhancement and real-time input of 3-D, microscopic phase objects into a coherent optical pattern recognition system is described. The method consists of directing a low-power laser beam into a microscope objective to produce a real, magnified, coherent image of the specimen under test. The image plane is followed by two successive Fourier transform (FT) planes. In the first FT plane, low and high frequency spatial filters, one of which is photographically produced, are used as pre-processing filters to enhance the image quality. The enhanced signal is imaged from the first FT plane to the second FT plane which contains a matched spatial filter used for specimen identification. The system does not require an expensive incoherent-to-coherent light transducer and in addition, is capable of utilizing both phase and amplitude information from 3-D objects. Examples of results are given.     

Coherent optical image deblurring using computer generated holograms

The low space-bandwidth product of simple computer generated filters is increased by holographic techniques to form holographic filters which may be combined with coherent optical processing to restore blurred photographs.     

What spatial light modulators can do for optical microscopy

With the availability of high‐resolution miniature spatial light modulators (SLMs) new methods in optical microscopy have become feasible. The SLMs discussed in this review consist of miniature liquid crystal displays with micron‐sized pixels that can modulate the phase and/or amplitude of an optical wavefront. In microscopy they can be used to control and shape the sample illumination, or they can act as spatial Fourier filters in the imaging path. Some of these applications are reviewed in this article. One of them, called spiral phase contrast, generates isotropic edge enhancement of thin phase samples or spiral‐shaped interference fringes for thicker phase samples, which can be used to reconstruct the phase topography from a single on‐axis interferogram. If SLMs are used for both illumination control and spatial Fourier filtering, this combination for instance allows for the generalization of the Zernike phase contrast principle. The new SLM‐based approach improves the effective resolution and avoids some shortcomings and artifacts of the traditional method. The main advantage of SLMs in microscopy is their flexibility, as one can realize various operation modes in the same setup, without the need for changing any hardware components, simply by electronically switching the phase pattern displayed on the SLMs.     

Quantitative phase microscopy of biological samples using a portable interferometer

This Letter presents the τ interferometer, a portable and inexpensive device for obtaining spatial interferograms of microscopic biological samples without the strict stability and the highly coherent illumination that are usually required for interferometric microscopy setups. The device is built using off-the-shelf optical elements and can easily operate with low-coherence illumination, while being positioned in the output of a conventional inverted microscope. The interferograms are processed into the quantitative amplitude and phase profiles of the sample. Based on the phase profile, the optical-path-delay profile is obtained with temporal stability of 0.18 nm and spatial stability of 0.42 nm. Further experimental demonstration of using the τ interferometer for imaging the quantitative thickness profile of a live red blood cell is provided.     

Noise performance of a white-light optical signal processor

A study of the effects of spatially and partially coherent illumination on the noise performance of an optical processor is presented here. Noise arising from defects in the object plane and the Fourier plane are considered separately. Two important types of noise are analyzed in detail: (a) amplitude noise and (b) ramdom phase noise. The results illustrate that the effects of the object phase noise can be reduced when the requirements on spatial coherence are relaxed. Also, the noise at the Fourier plane can be effectively eliminated when a spatially incoherent light source is employed.     

Synthesis of spatial coherence

The mutual intensity function plays a major role in characterizing quasi-monochromatic, partially coherent optical signals. We propose to use the mutual intensity as a carrier of information to avoid speckle noise in coherent illumination systems and to permit the use of complex functions that are prohibited spatially incoherent sources. To do this we require methods for encoding the information as a coherence function. An optical system for synthesizing a beam with a given mutual intensity function is proposed. The optical system permits the synthesis of any desired mutual intensity function. The illumination is supplied by a quasi-monochromatic, spatially incoherent source. Experimental results demonstrate the performance of this system for several cases.     

非相干照明条件下的ptychographic iterative engine成像技术

在传统多波长相干衍射成像理论的基础上提出适用于 X-射线和电子束等非相干光源照明成像的改进多波长ptychographic iterative engine 方法, 同时将小孔形状和照明光谱信息用于叠代计算, 可以在非相干照明条件下精确重建出物体的强度透射像和相位透射像, 并对光源带宽对重建精度的影响进行了分析, 对于解决如何在非相干照明条件下对大尺寸物体进行精确相位成像的问题具有较好的科研和实用价值.