Enhancement of spatial resolution of ghost imaging via localizing and thresholding

In ghost imaging, an illumination light is split into test and reference beams which pass through two different optical systems respectively and an image is constructed with the second-order correlation between the two light beams. Since both light beams are diffracted when passing through the optical systems, the spatial resolution of ghost imaging is in general lower than that of a corresponding conventional imaging system. When Gaussian-shaped light spots are used to illuminate an object, randomly scanning across the object plane, in the ghost imaging scheme, we show th√at by localizing central positions of the spots of the reference light beam, the resolution can be increased by a factor of 2~(1/2) same as that of the corresponding conventional imaging system. We also find that the resolution can be further enhanced by setting an appropriate threshold to the bucket measurement of ghost imaging.     

Three-dimensional ghost imaging based on periodic diffraction correlation imaging

We experimentally demonstrate a three-dimensional （3D） ghost imaging method based on period diffraction correlation imaging. Compared with conventional ghost imaging, our method can easily retrieve the images of different focal planes. Due to the correlation between the disturbed object beam and the reference beams which do not pass through any scattering, the clear images can be periodically obtained in the uncovered zones even through a scattering medium. The analysis of the 3D imaging resolution reveals that the proper resolution for actual demand can be achieved by designing our devices. The implementation of this experiment is quite simple and low-cost. It facilitates the practical applications of ghost imaging.     

Theoretical Analysis of Quantum Noise in Ghost Imaging

Ghost imaging is a method to image nonlocally an object by transmitting pairs of entangled photons through the object and a reference optical system respectively. We present a theoretical analysis of the quantum noise in this imaging technique. The dependence of the noise on the properties of the apertures in the imaging system are discussed and demonstrated with a numerical example. For a given source, the resolution and the signal-to-noise ratio cannot be improved simultaneously.     

Optical design of common-aperture multispectral and polarization optical imaging system with wide field of view

Multispectral and polarization cameras that can simultaneously acquire the spatial, spectral, and polarization characteristics of an object have considerable potential applications in target detection, biomedical imaging, and remote sensing.In this work, we develop a common-aperture optical system that can capture multispectral and polarization information.An off-axis three-mirror optical system is mounted on the front end of the proposed system and used as a common-aperture telescope in the visible light(400 nm–750 nm) and long-wave infrared(LWIR, 8 μm–12 μm) waveband. The system can maintain a wide field of view(4.5?) and it can demonstrate an enhanced identification ability. The off-axis three-mirror system gets rid of central obscuration while further yielding stable system resolution and energy. Light that has passed through the front-end common-aperture reflection system is divided into the visible light and LWIR waveband by a beamsplitter.The two wavebands then converge on two detectors through two groups of lenses. Our simulation results indicate that the proposed system can obtain clear images in each waveband to meet the diverse imaging requirements.     

Effect of Wavefront Properties on Numerical Aperture of Fresnel Hologram in Incoherent Holographic Microscopy

Fresnel incoherent correlation holographic （FINCH） microscopy is a recently developed new technique, which employs a spatial light modulator （SLM） as the beam splitter. Light originating from the same object point is split into two beams by the wavefront-division phase mask displayed on SLM, and a Fresnel-zone plate-like hologram is formed by the interference of the two beams. The numerical aperture NAH of the recorded Fresnel hologram is introduced as a comprehensive parameter for evaluating the imaging characteristics in the FINCH scheme. The effect of wavefront properties on NAH of the hologram is investigated theoretically in the sense of optimizing imaging resolution. The variation trends of NAH are described and an optimal NAH is achieved by implementing an appropriate phase mask for a given recording distance between SLM and CCD; thus optimized imaging resolution and signal-to-noise ratio are demonstrated experimentally.     

Hanbury-Brown and Twiss type double-slit interference with photorefractive fanning light

This paper reports that when an intense extraordinary-polarized laser beam illuminates a photorefractive BaTiO₃ crystal, the dynamic beam fanning light is formed to be a thermal-like light source with a long correlation time and wide spectral bandwidth. The experimental results of the first- and second-order double-slit interference with such photorefractive fanning light source, can be understood with the theoretical simulation in terms of Hanbury-Brown and Twiss effect.     

Implementation of efficient image reconstruction for CT

Computer Tomography (CT) refers to the cross-sectional imaging of an object. When a series of rays pass through an object, the ray attenuation occurs. After projections are collected by many detectors on the side of the ob- ject, image reconstruction algorithm can be used to re- construct its two-dimensional (2D) cross-sectional image from its projection[1]. The mathematical basis for tomog- raphy was inverse radon transform theory. The filtered back projection algorithm is widely used by al…     

A general phase retrieval algorithm based on a ptychographical iterative engine for coherent diffractive imaging

Coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) is a lensless imaging technique and can achieve a resolution beyond the Rayleigh or Abbe limit. The ptychographical iterative engine (PIE) is a CDI phase retrieval algorithm that uses multiple diffraction patterns obtained through the scan of a localized illumination on the specimen, which has been demonstrated successfully at optical and X-ray wavelengths. In this paper, a general PIE algorithm (gPIE) is presented and demonstrated with an He-Ne laser light diffraction dataset. This algorithm not only permits the removal of the accurate model of the illumination function in PIE, but also provides improved convergence speed and retrieval quality.     

Fresnel incoherent correlation hologram—— a review （Invited Paper）

Holographic imaging offers a reliable and fast method to capture the complete three-dimensional （3D） information of the scene from a single perspective. We review our recently proposed single-channel optical system for generating digital Fresnel holograms of 3D real-existing objects illuminated by incoherent light. In this motionless holographic technique, light is reflected, or emitted from a 3D object, propagates through a spatial light modulator （SLM）, and is recorded by a digital camera. The SLM is used as a beamsplitter of the single-channel incoherent interferometer, such that each spherical beam originated from each object point is split into two spherical beams with two different curve radii. Incoherent sum of the entire interferences between all the couples of spherical beams creates the Fresnel hologram of the observed 3D object. When this hologram is reconstructed in the computer, the 3D properties of the object are revealed.     

Effects of light intensity on reflective ghost imaging

In this letter, we analyze the effects of light intensity find that the brightness of reflective ghost image can on reflective ghost imaging with thermal source. We be changed by modulating the light intensity of the source and the splitting ratio of the beam splitter. The signal-to-noise ratio will be improved by increa.sing the light intensity of the source. More important, we can obtain the reflective ghost image with high image quality by adopting a low light intensity signal beam and a high light intensity reference beam, which is better than the classical optical imaging, because it can reduce the effects of light on the object.     

Signal-to-noise ratio of lensless ghost interference with thermal incoherent light

Factors influencing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of lensless ghost interference with thermal incoherent light are investigated.Our result shows that the SNR of lensless ghost interference is related to the transverse length of the object,the position of the object in the imaging system and the transverse size of the light source.Furthermore,the effects of these factors on the SNR are discussed in detail by numerical simulations.     

A Novel Micro-Displacement Measuring Method Based on Optical Path Modulation

According to the interference theory of double-grating interferometers, the feature of Moire fringe imaging in each region is investigated and a novel micro-displacement measuring method based on optical path modulation is proposed. The basic measurement principle is that the displacement is measured through Moire fringe shifting, which is caused by the whole phased object thickness variation, in the case of non-relative movement of gratings. The object displacement measured can be changed into the phased object variation inserted in region Ⅱ using a mechanical arrangement. The principle of the micro-displacement measurement is analyzed theoretically. The light intensity of the distributing image in each interference region is given no matter whether we insert the phased object or not. The effect on the Moire fringe of the whole thickness variation of the phased object is also discussed. It is confirmed that the Moire fringe shifts with phased object variation by calculation with MATLAB. The experimental result proves that the resolution of this method is 2.1093 μm, and the resolution of the system is 0.5273μm after a four-subdivision circuit.     

Resolution of ghost imaging with entangled photons for different types of momentum correlation

We present an analytical analysis of the spatial resolution of quantum ghost imaging implemented by entangled photons from a general, spontaneously parametric, down-conversion process. We find that the resolution is affected by both the pump beam waist and the nonlinear crystal length. Hence, we determined a method to improve the resolution for a certain imaging setup. It should be noted that the resolution is not uniquely related to the degree of entanglement of the photon pair since the resolution can be optimized for a certain degree of entanglement. For certain types of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen(EPR) states——namely the momentum-correlated or momentum-positively correlated states——the resolution exhibits a simpler relationship with the pump beam waist and crystal length. Further, a vivid numerical simulation of ghost imaging is presented for different types of EPR states,which supports our analysis. This work discusses applicable references to the applications of quantum ghost imaging.     

Compound diffractive telescope system: design, straylight analysis, and optical test

The compound diffractive telescope is a novel space optical system which combines the structure of compound eyes with diffractive optics and so it has a lighter weight, a wider field of view (FOV), a lower cost as well as looser fabrication tolerance. In this paper, the design of a compound diffractive telescope composed of one primary lens and twenty-one eyepieces is introduced. Then the influence of diffraction orders on the performance of the system is analysed. A modified phase function model of diffractive optics is proposed to analyse the modulation transfer function (MTF) curves for 0℃ FOV, which provides a more accurate prediction of the performance of the system. In addition, an optimized mechanism is also proposed to suppress stray light. The star image and resolution tests show that the system can achieve diffraction limit imaging within ± 2℃ of FOV and ±4~mm of eccentricity. Finally, a series of pictures of an object are taken from different channels, and the splicing of pictures from adjacent FOVs is demonstrated. In summary, the designed system has been proved to have great potential applications.     

Imaging through aberrating imaging with media by computational ghost incoherent light

we demonstrate a series of experiments on imaging through both stationary aberrating media and moving aberrating media by computational ghost imaging （CGI）. An incoherent LED light source is used instead of the common pseudothermal light source （laser light passing through a rotating ground glass）. A digital micromirror device is used as a simple spatial light modulator to perform CGI. Moreover. a digital filtering method is introduced to improve imaging quality through moving aberrating media. This imaging modality may have potential applications in medicine and astronomy.     

Negative refraction and subwavelength imaging of a photonic-crystal slab for the frequencies in the third band

Negative refraction and subwavelength imaging properties of a two-dimensional （2D） photonic crystal （PC） slab are studied by the finite-difference time-domain method. The PC consists of a triangular lattice of air holes immersed in a dielectric. For a certain frequency range in the third photonic band, the directions of the group velocities and the phase velocities can be opposite, so the PC can work as a kind of negative refractive-index material. The light radiated from a point source can form a subwavelength image spot through the PC slab. Negative refraction and an effective refractive index of the PC slab n = -1 can be achieved for the incident wave with its incident angle within a certain range.     

Localized modes in orientation-disordered one-dimensional media with uniaxial scatterers

Localized modes in one-dimensional (1D) media with uniaxial scatterers that are assumed to be order in spatial location but disorder in spatial orientation of their optical axis are investigated.Based on the holistic effect model in random laser,i.e.,the random laser is due to the interaction of the complex localized modes in active random media with local aperiodic quasi-structure with appropriate pump light,a physical model on this type of random media is found.Its disorder degree is defined by D=n_o/n_e.Then,the typical transmission spectrum through the random media and the light field intensity distribution corresponding to the defect modes in photonic band-gap are calculated numerically by means of the transfer matrix method,and the condition that the localized mode appears is discussed.Results show that the medium disorder plays an important role in determining the lightwave state.The localized state appears when the medium disorder is strong enough,and a new mechanism creating random laser phenomenon is brought forward.     

Non-geometrical effects on Gaussian beams transmitting through a thin dielectric slab

It is shown that a Gaussian light beam transmitting through a planar thin dielectric slab in the air undergoes four different effects, i.e. lateral Goos-Hanchen-like （GHL） displacement, angular deflection, width modification and longitudinal focal shift as compared with the results predicted by geometrical optics. According to the Taylor expansion of the exponent of transmission coefficient when expressed as an exponential form, the lateral GHL displacement and the angular deflection are the first-order effects and can be negative or positive. The width modification and the longitudinal focal shift are the second-order effects and can also be positive or negative. Owing to the waist-width dependent term, the non-geometrical effects of transmitted beam are not identical with the non-specular effects of reflected beam. The conditions for the validity of those effects are suggested and numerical simulations are also given.     

Simultaneous quantitative evaluation of in-plane and out-of-plane deformation by use of a carrier method of large image-shearing shearography

A carrier method for separating out-of-plane displacement from in-plane components based on large image-shearing shearography is presented. A reference surface is fixed on the side of a test object. They are illuminated by two expanded symmetric illuminations respectively. The carrier is introduced by rotating the reference surface to modulate the displacement of an object. By using Fourier transform to demodulate the modulated fringe pattern, two phase maps, which include out-of-plane and in-plane displacements, can be obtained. Then the out-of-plane displacement can be easily separated from in-plane displacement by subtraction and addition of the two unwrapped phase distributions. The principle of the method is presented and proved by a typical three-point-bending experiment. Experimental results show that the method enjoys high visibility of carrier fringes. The system does not need a special beam as a reference light and has simple optical setup.     

Experimental study of ultrasound-modulated scattering light using different frequencies ultrasound probes

The focused ultrasound plays a role in localization and modulating the scattering light in ultrasound- modulated optical tomography （UOT）. Both the modulation efficiency of the scattering light and the spatial resolution of UOT are determined by ultrasound. The effects of repetition frequency and pulse energy of impulse ultrasound on the modulated scattering light are derived through experiment in this letter. Purthermore, we compare the imaging sensitivity with 1, 2.25, 5, and 10 MHz center frequencies of impulse ultrasound. Experimental results demonstrate that better signal-to-noise ratios and higher sensitivities can be gained by use of more intense ultrasound and lower ultrasound frequencies.