Quantitative assessment of lateral resolution improvement in digital holography

Controllable experimental features such as wavelength, camera’s specifications and reconstruction distance, determine the theoretical limit for lateral resolution in digital holography; however, due to the speckle noise associated to any coherent imaging system it is not possible to reach this theoretical limit. In this paper, a quantitative study the lateral resolution for digital holography under the effect the speckle noise is carried out. It is shown that by reducing the contrast of the speckle noise the resolution capabilities of digital holography are improved; the signal-to-noise ratio of the reconstructed holograms is the metric use to quantitatively assess the reached resolution in the holographic experiments.     

Incoherent recovering of the spatial resolution in digital holography

We report on a technique to recover the spatial resolution of digitally recorded and reconstructed holograms of large objects. Due to the high-contrast speckle noise diminishes the spatial resolution in coherent imaging systems our proposal is based on the reduction of the contrast of it. This aim is achieved through the superposition on an intensity basis of digitally reconstructed holograms of the same static scene. We show a theoretical justification of the procedure and experimentally-obtained results of applying the technique with digitally reconstructed holograms of an object with very poor optical contrast.     

基于多角度无透镜傅里叶变换数字全息的散斑噪声抑制成像研究

在数字全息成像中,散斑噪声严重影响了再现像的信噪比和成像分辨率,因此为了提高数字全息成像质量,迫切需要抑制再现像的散斑噪声.分析并给出了矩形散射光斑的强度协方差,定量计算了特定实验条件下产生退相关散斑图样的最小角度差.结合透镜的性质设计并搭建了多角度无透镜傅里叶变换数字全息成像系统,利用光纤端面在透镜焦平面的二维机械移动代替传统反射镜的旋转,使照明光束在不改变照明位置和大小的同时,可任意改变光束方向.移动光纤端面使多角度照明满足最小角度差,获取了81幅数字全息图.利用单次快速傅里叶逆变换实现数值再现,对多幅再现像的强度像求平均,实验结果表明散斑对比度降低为单幅再现像的14.6%,使图像信噪比提高了6.9倍.该抑制散斑的多角度数字全息成像方法有效的抑制了散斑噪声,且成像光路结构简单,可操作性强.     

A novel coding method for high vividness three-dimensional holographic display

The quality of the reconstructed holographic three-dimensional image is seriously influenced by the noise. A novel encoded algorithm combining the Burch code with the four-step phase shifting method is presented to remove the noise and improve the contrast and resolution of the reconstructed image. The reconstructed three-dimensional images are compared with the results of the median filtering. The performance parameters of two methods are analyzed. The experimental results show that the zero-order light spot, conjugate image and speckle noise are suppressed effectively. The quality of the reconstructed image is noticeably improved.     

Digital color holographic recording and reconstruction using synthetic aperture and multiple reference waves

This paper presents a method for recording and reconstructing high-quality digital color holographic images. The synthetic aperture technique is used to improve the resolution of the reconstructed image and also reduce the speckle size in the reconstruction plane. Subsequently, the multiple reference wave technique is used to suppress speckle noise in the reconstructed color holographic image by superposing speckle fields with different distributions. The final high-quality color holographic image is obtained due to the resolution improvement and speckle noise reduction achieved by the two techniques. Our method has potential applications in the digital color holographic displays.     

激光相干场成像散斑噪声复合去噪方法

噪声是影响激光相干场高分辨成像系统像质的重要因素,激光相干场成像系统既受背景光加性噪声影响,又受激光乘性散斑噪声影响.为解决激光相干场成像系统受激光乘性散斑噪声和背景光加性噪声叠加引起的成像像质退化效应问题,从噪声抑制角度提高激光相干场系统高分辨成像像质,研究建立了激光散斑乘性噪声和背景光加性噪声对大气下行链路激光回波场信号影响干扰模型,并基于该模型提出了一种基于同态滤波和稀疏基追踪级联复合去噪算法.首先基于同态滤波理论将激光乘性散斑噪声转化为加性噪声,再由高通滤波器滤除散斑噪声,最后采用基追踪稀疏理论方法抑制背景光等加性噪声对像质的影响.研究表明,较现有单一去噪方法,该级联复合去噪方法可一次性消除激光乘性散斑噪声和背景加性噪声两种不同性质的噪声,有效改善了激光相干场成像质量.     

数字全息技术中散斑噪声滤波算法比较

 在数字全息测量记录过程中,其所记录的全息图易受到散斑噪声的污染造成分辨率下降,同时也严重影响数字全息再现的效果,因此研究适用于数字全息技术中散斑滤波的算法具有重要的实用价值。介绍了中值滤波、Lee滤波、Kuan滤波和SUSAN滤波这四种常用的散斑滤波算法,并将它们运用于数字全息实验所记录图像和数字再现图像的散斑噪声滤波处理中,然后对这四种算法的处理结果进行评价。结果表明,在数字全息技术中使用SUSAN滤波算法进行处理,既明显抑制了散斑噪声,又有效保证了再现图像信息的完整性。     

Super-resolution imaging via sparsity constraint and sparse speckle illumination

We present an imaging approach via sparsity constraint and sparse speckle illumination which can dramatically enhance the optical system's imaging resolution. When the object is illuminated by some sparse speckles and the sparse reconstruction algorithm is utilized to restore the blur image, numerical simulated results demonstrate that the image,whose resolution exceeds the Rayleigh limit, can be stably reconstructed even if the detection signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)is less than 10 d B. Factors affecting the quality of the reconstructed image, such as the coded pattern's sparsity and the detection SNR, are also studied.     

Investigation of noise properties in grating-based x-ray phase tomography with reverse projection method

The relationship between noise variance and spatial resolution in grating-based x-ray phase computed tomography(PCT) imaging is investigated with reverse projection extraction method, and the noise variances of the reconstructed absorption coefficient and refractive index decrement are compared. For the differential phase contrast method, the noise variance in the differential projection images follows the same inverse-square law with spatial resolution as in conventional absorption-based x-ray imaging projections. However, both theoretical analysis and simulations demonstrate that in PCT the noise variance of the reconstructed refractive index decrement scales with spatial resolution follows an inverse linear relationship at fixed slice thickness, while the noise variance of the reconstructed absorption coefficient conforms with the inverse cubic law. The results indicate that, for the same noise variance level, PCT imaging may enable higher spatial resolution than conventional absorption computed tomography(ACT), while ACT benefits more from degraded spatial resolution. This could be a useful guidance in imaging the inner structure of the sample in higher spatial resolution.     

Study on the reduction of speckle noise in the reconstructed image of digital hologram

As one of the most important 3-D display technique, reduction of speckle noise in the reconstructed image of digital holography should be grounded on the digital hologram itself. Based on the whole process of the recording and reconstruction of digital holography, the optical distributions of recorded object and reconstructed image of digital holography have been studied. It has been proposed that the root formation cause of speckle noise in its reconstructed image is the speckle noise formed on the recorded object surface when illuminated by coherent light because of its optical roughness. A novel approach has been presented to reduce speckle noise in digital holography by changing the interference structure of hologram itself. First, by reducing the speckle noise in the reconstructed image, the distribution of ideal reconstruction light with reduced speckle noise is acquired. Then in turn, taking the ideal reconstruction light with reduced speckle noise as ideal object light, a new hologram can be rebuilt, which can reconstruct the ideal object light. The experimental results are given to confirm the proposed method. Therefore, it offers a brand-new thought and practical way to reduce the speckle noise in the reconstructed image of digital holography.     

The influence of hologram aperture on speckle noise in the reconstructed image of digital holography and its reduction

Based on the whole process of the recording and reconstruction of digital holography, we study the formation cause of speckle noise in its reconstructed image and acquire the conclusion that the small size of hologram aperture diffraction aggravates the speckle noise of reconstructed image and the speckle noise has been one of primary noise sources in the reconstruction process. In order to reduce the speckle noise resulting from little hologram aperture diffraction, we set an appropriate aperture function matching the recording parameter and aperture size of hologram and deconvolve the reconstructed image with it. The validity has been proved in theory and experiment. Therefore, it offers a brand-new thought and practical way to reduce the speckle noise in the reconstructed image of digital holography.     

Reduction of speckle noise in the reconstructed image of digital holography

Based on the whole process of recording and reconstruction of digital holography, we study the formation causes of speckle noise in the reconstructed image and its characteristics. And we reach the conclusions that the little hologram aperture diffraction aggravates the speckle noise and the speckle noise in the reconstructed image is a kind of multiplicative noise. Serving as the basis of these features, we propose the reduction technique for speckle noise. Firstly, we set an appropriate aperture function matching the recording parameter and an aperture size of hologram and deconvolve the reconstructed image of the hologram with it. Secondly, we converted the multiplicative noise into additive noise by means of homomorphic transform and realize the separation of signal and noise. Thirdly, we applied the Wiener filtering to reduce the additive noise. Finally, we carried out the inverse transformation. The proposed reduction technique is illustrated with experimental results. Therefore, the paper offers a brand-new thought and practical way of reducing the speckle noise in the reconstructed image of digital holography.     

基于数学形态学的数字全息再现像融合方法

针对数字全息中不同再现距离获得的携带不同聚焦信息的再现像, 提出了一种基于数学形态学的多聚焦再现像融合方法, 以有效扩展成像景深。首先通过小波-Controulet变换获得源图像的高频和低频分量;然后, 针对数字全息中含散斑噪声的特点, 对高频分量采用基于数学形态学区域能量的方法进行融合, 对低频分量采用加权对比度法进行融合;最后, 将融合系数反变换得到融合图像。通过对算法的有效性分析和实验验证, 将本文提出的方法与不加入数学形态学的融合方法进行了对比研究。结果表明, 基于数学形态学的融合方法能充分抑制散斑噪声的影响, 保留更多细节信息, 有效扩展了成像景深范围达11.5 cm。其中, 对于表面粗糙且信息量较少的骰子, 基于数学形态学方法的空间梯度算子提高了11.8%, 熵值提高了2.7%;对于表面光滑且信息量较多的硬币, 其空间梯度算子提高了13.6%, 熵值提高了2.8%。     

Understanding the exposure-time effect on speckle contrast measurements for laser displays

To evaluate the influence of exposure time on speckle noise for laser displays, speckle contrast measurement method was developed observable at a human eye response time using a high-sensitivity camera which has a signal multiplying function. The nonlinearity of camera light sensitivity was calibrated to measure accurate speckle contrasts, and the measuring lower limit noise of speckle contrast was improved by applying spatial-frequency low pass filter to the captured images. Three commercially available laser displays were measured over a wide range of exposure times from tens of milliseconds to several seconds without adjusting the brightness of laser displays. The speckle contrast of raster-scanned mobile projector without any speckle-reduction device was nearly constant over various exposure times. On the contrary to this, in full-frame projection type laser displays equipped with a temporally-averaging speckle-reduction device, some of their speckle contrasts close to the lower limits noise were slightly increased at the shorter exposure time due to the noise. As a result, the exposure-time effect of speckle contrast could not be observed in our measurements, although it is more reasonable to think that the speckle contrasts of laser displays, which are equipped with the temporally-averaging speckle-reduction device, are dependent on the exposure time. This discrepancy may be attributed to the underestimation of temporal averaging factor. We expected that this method is useful for evaluating various laser displays and clarify the relationship between the speckle noise and the exposure time for a further verification of speckle reduction.     

针对多散斑图的差分压缩鬼成像方案研究

鬼成像方案实现所需设备、成像的质量以及成像所花的时间是决定鬼成像技术可实用化的重要因素. 本文提出一种针对多散斑图的差分压缩鬼成像方案. 该方案通过连续探测多个独立的散斑图, 降低了热光鬼成像方案对探测器高时间分辨力的要求; 通过采用差分方法, 抑制了背景噪声和其他噪声源的干扰; 通过使用压缩感知重建算法, 有效地降低了鬼成像所需时间并同时提升成像的质量. 数值仿真结果表明, 对于二灰度“N” 图, 本方案在8000次的采样情形下与多散斑图鬼成像方案35000次采样的结果相比, 均方误差降低了96.9%、峰值信噪比提升15.1 dB. 对于八灰度“Pepper”图, 本方案与多散斑图鬼成像方案相比, PSNR提升11.4 dB. 本方案可降低探测设备的要求、提高成像质量、降低重建时间, 具有广阔的应用前景.     

An effective method for reducing speckle noise in digital holography

An effective method for reducing the speckle noise in digital holography is proposed in this paper.Different from the methods based on classical filtering technique,it utilizes the multiple holograms which are generated by rotating the illuminating light continuously.The intensity images reconstructed by a series of holograms generated by rotating the illuminating light possess different speckle patterns.Hence by properly averaging the reconstructed intensity fields,the speckle noises can be reduced greatly.Experimental results show that the proposed method is simple and effective to reduce speckle noise in digital holography.     

Enhancement of low-quality reconstructed digital hologram images based on frequency extrapolation of large objects under the diffraction limit

During the reconstruction of a digital hologram, the reconstructed image is usually degraded by speckle noise, which makes it hard to observe the original object pattern. In this paper, a new reconstructed image enhancement method is proposed, which first reduces the speckle noise using an adaptive Gaussian filter, then calculates the high frequencies that belong to the object pattern based on a frequency extrapolation strategy. The proposed frequency extrapolation first calculates the frequency spectrum of the Fourier-filtered image, which is originally reconstructed from the +1 order of the hologram, and then gives the initial parameters for an iterative solution. The analytic iteration is implemented by continuous gradient threshold convergence to estimate the image level and vertical gradient information. The predicted spectrum is acquired through the analytical iteration of the original spectrum and gradient spectrum analysis. Finally, the reconstructed spectrum of the restoration image is acquired from the synthetic correction of the original spectrum using the predicted gradient spectrum. We conducted our experiment very close to the diffraction limit and used low-quality equipment to prove the feasibility of our method. Detailed analysis and figure demonstrations are presented in the paper.     

Speckle noise reduction by the composition of diffused Fraunhofer holograms

The image reconstructed from a composite hologram is compared with that obtained by multiple-exposure of images independently reconstructed from a single element and also with that from a synthetic-aperture hologram. The experimental results show the difference in the principle of speckle noise reduction with these three methods and prove that the composite hologram arranged only in a row is sufficient for reducing the speckle noise.     

长工作距离显微成像数字全息合成孔径方法(英文)

提出了一种用于长工作距离下显微成像的数字全息合成孔径方法。首先,在不同斜入射照明条件下记录多幅包含不同物光频谱范围的数字全息图。然后,利用每一幅全息图通过数字方法重构并放大物体强度像。最后,通过非相干叠加这些强度像得到分辨力提高且散斑噪声减小的合成物体强度像。理论分析和实验结果表明,此方法可应用于长工作距离下的原位显微观测。     

Real-time anti-node visualization of vibrating distributed systems in noisy environments using defocused laser speckle contrast analysis

A simple optical technique is described that allows for the direct whole-field visualization of anti-nodal patterns in noisy environments. The technique involves the combination of defocused laser speckle imaging with the laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA) algorithm to relate local contrast reduction of a laser speckle pattern to the magnitude of the gradient vectors that arise due to the tilt deflection of a vibrating surface. The method requires no reference beam and is tolerant of environmental noise. The sensitivity of the technique is a direct function of the degree of defocus of the speckle pattern and thus can be readily adjusted. By ratioing the instantaneous contrast to the reference image contrast, a simple method for thresholding the noise floor (noise at reference state) is attained, thus increasing the method's tolerance to ambient disturbances. Results from forced vibration via acoustic excitation of a square and rectangular membrane—with and without simultaneous white noise excitation—are shown. Results are compared to theoretical predictions for an ideal membrane, with good agreement.