Quantum and classical coincidence imaging

Coincidence, or ghost, imaging is a technique that uses two correlated optical fields to form an image of an object. In this work we identify aspects of coincidence imaging which can be performed with classically correlated light sources and aspects which require quantum entanglement. We find that entangled photons allow high-contrast, high-resolution imaging to be performed at any distance from the light source. We demonstrate this fact by forming ghost images in the near and far fields of an entangled photon source, noting that the product of the resolutions of these images is a factor of 3 better than that which is allowed by classical diffraction theory.     

Three-dimensional polarimetric integral imaging

A three-dimensional (3D) polarimetric image sensing and display technique based on integral imaging is proposed. Three-dimensional polarization distribution of reflected light from a 3D object can be measured as elemental image arrays by a rotating linear polarizer. After the measurement of the polarization of the 3D object, the 3D polarimetric object can be reconstructed optically by displaying the polarization-selected elemental images in spatial light modulators with two quarter-wave plates. Experimental demonstration of 3D polarimetric imaging of a 3D object attached to two orthogonal linear polarizers is presented. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on 3D polarimetric sensing imaging and 3D optical reconstruction by integral imaging.     

基于相移结构光照明的浮雕成像技术研究

详细介绍了一种基于相移结构光照明的浮雕成像技术,对该成像技术的原理和成像特性进行了实验研究,并采用相移结构光照明的方法实现彩色浮雕成像。实验中,将多幅相移正弦条纹光场斜投射到被拍摄物体上,数码相机依次拍摄被照明的物体,再利用拍摄到的多幅相移图像,通过计算的方法重建出所需要的图像。理论分析和实验结果表明,相移结构光照明成像技术能有效地消去环境不均匀光照的影响,获取的反射率分布图像只与结构光照明有关,突显了斜投射照明所形成的阴影,图像的明暗变化反映出物体表面的法线变化,因而在视觉上形成了明显的浮雕效果。     

基于压缩感知的差分关联成像方案研究

关联成像可提供一种运用常规手段难以获得清晰图像的方法, 能够解决一些常规成像技术不易解决的问题, 是近些年来量子光学领域的前沿和热点之一.本文提出一种基于压缩感知的差分关联成像方案(简称, 差分压缩关联成像方案), 将高斯分布的热光源强度分布作为压缩感知的测量矩阵, 差分物体信息作为被成像物体信息, 利用差分关联成像方案的高成像信噪比和压缩感知技术的低采样次数, 通过正交匹配追踪算法, 高质量地恢复出物体信息. 并以二灰度“双缝”、“NUPT”, 多灰度Lena图和Boats图为例, 数值仿真差分压缩关联成像过程; 同时将本方案350次测量的结果与差分关联成像方案30000次测量的结果进行对比, 研究结果表明针对不同的被成像物体(二灰度“双缝”、“NUPT”, 以及多灰度Lena图和Boats图), 10次成像的均方误差平均值分别降低了97.7%, 93.9%, 92.5%和71.4%; 与压缩鬼成像方案相比, 同样测量次数条件下均方误差值对于二灰度双缝和多灰度Lena图、Boats图等目标物 体分别有50.4%, 72.9%和66.8%的降低. 差分压缩关联成像方案极大地提高了成像信噪比, 降低了成像时间. 关键词： 关联成像 差分 压缩感知 均方误差     

Velocity and Acceleration Measurement from the Spatio-Temporal Fourier Transform of Low Light Level Images

The spatio-temporal Fourier transform is usually applied to determine the velocity of an object from a series of standard light intensity frames. In this paper the technique has been extended to determine the object acceleration. The techniques for velocity and acceleration determination based on the spatio-temporal Fourier transform have been applied to experimental low light level images. Under these conditions, the processing time is reduced so that, in those cases in which it is necessary to quickly obtain the object velocity or acceleration, low light level conditions would be advantageous, using intensity filters if necessary.     

Quantum limits on optical resolution

We discuss the ultimate limit imposed by quantum fluctuations of light for resolution of fine details in optical images. For this purpose, we extend in the quantum domain the classical analysis of the object reconstruction, or superresolution, in terms of prolate spheroidal function basis. We derive the expression for ultimate resolution limit in the reconstructed object using an illumination of the full object plane by a multimode squeezed vacuum. We show that the gain in resolution using multimode squeezed light is maximum when the Shannon number of the imaging system is close to unity.     

Recognition of a light line pattern by Hu moments for 3-D reconstruction of a rotated object

A simple technique of a light line projection for 3-D shape detection of rotated objects is presented. In this technique, an object is rotated around its symmetrical axis four times at an angle by using an electromechanical device and scanned by a light line. Four views of the object surface are extracted from each one of these rotations by processing a set of light line images. These views are connected using rotation angle and origin coordinates to obtain the complete 3-D shape. Angle and origin are calculated by recognition of a light line pattern. Light line pattern is recognized by Hu moments. In this manner, measurement errors on setup are avoided. It is an advantage over common methods, where these two parameters are measured directly on the setup to obtain the 3-D shape. Local profilometric method is based on the perturbation that the light line suffers when it is projected on the object surface. This perturbation is observed on an image plane due to the different direction between light line projector and viewer. These perturbations are measured by using Gaussian functions. In this technique the light line images are processed in very fast form. The technique and processing time are presented in detail. This technique is tested with objects, which have little information and its experimental results are also presented.     

Wavefront analysis for plenoptic camera imaging

The plenoptic camera is a single lens stereo camera which can retrieve the direction of light rays while detecting their intensity distribution. In this paper, to reveal more truths of plenoptic camera imaging, we present the wavefront analysis for the plenoptic camera imaging from the angle of physical optics but not from the ray tracing model of geometric optics.Specifically, the wavefront imaging model of a plenoptic camera is analyzed and simulated by scalar diffraction theory and the depth estimation is redescribed based on physical optics. We simulate a set of raw plenoptic images of an object scene, thereby validating the analysis and derivations and the difference between the imaging analysis methods based on geometric optics and physical optics are also shown in simulations.     

Object reconstruction in scattering medium using multiple elliptical polarized speckle contrast projections and optical clearing agents

In this paper, we present a hybrid method for improving the imaging quality of objects obscured within a scattering environment by combining multiple elliptical polarized speckle contrast projections with the use of optical clearing agents (OCAs). Elliptically polarized light enables the probing of subsurface volumes, where OCAs decrease light scattering while increasing photons׳ penetration depth through the medium. Experiments were conducted on object sample and prostate cancer cells embedded within ex vivo biological samples (chicken breasts) in reflection configuration. After immersion with OCAs, the medium was irradiated with an elliptically polarized laser beam and multiple polarized speckled images obtained from a lens array were first converted to speckled contrast images and then processed using a self-deconvolution shift-and-add algorithm. The conversion to contrast images and multiple perspectives acquisition was found to emphasize contrast. Analysis of image quality indicated improvement in object visualization by the combination of elliptical polarization and OCAs. This enhanced imaging strategy may advance the development of improved methods in biomedicine field, specifically biomedical tomography.     

Single-pixel polarimetric imaging spectrometer by compressive sensing

We present an optical system that performs polarimetric spectral imaging with a detector with no spatial resolution. This fact is possible by applying the theory of compressive sampling to the data acquired by a sensor composed of an analyzer followed by a commercial fiber spectrometer. The key element in the measurement process is a digital micromirror device, which sequentially generates a set of intensity light patterns to sample the object image. For different configurations of the analyzer, we obtain polarimetric images that provide information about the spatial distribution of light polarization at several spectral channels. Experimental results for colorful objects are presented in a spectral range that covers the visible spectrum and a part of the NIR range. The performance of the proposed technique is discussed in detail, and further improvements are suggested.     

Synthetic aperture microscopy for high resolution imaging through a turbid medium

We report on synthetic aperture microscopy through a highly turbid medium. We first recorded a transmission matrix for the turbid medium with an angular basis of 20,000 complex images covering 0.6 NA. This effectively converts the medium into a lens of the same NA. Distorted images of a target object are then taken at 500 different angles of illumination covering 0.6 NA. For each of the distorted images, the original object image is reconstructed from the transmission matrix by the recently developed turbid lens imaging (TLI) technique. All 500 reconstructed images are synthesized to enhance the NA to 1.2 and thereby generate an object image with twice the enhanced spatial resolution of the individual images. Our method of applying aperture synthesis for TLI makes it possible to enhance the resolving power without increasing the number of transmission matrix elements. This relieves the demand for data acquisition and processing that has impeded the practicality of TLI.     

Simulated Output Images of Near-Field Optics by Volume Integral Equation: Object Placed on the Dielectric Substrate

We investigated near-field optical (NFO) imaging characteristics of a small object placed on a dielectric slab by a computer-code using a three-dimensional volume integral equation with an effective iteration technique called the generalized minimal residual method. A simplified three-dimensional NFO microscope that consists of a small dielectric object placed on the dielectric substrate and a small dielectric sphere as a scanning probe-tip was considered. Calculating two-dimensional output images obtained from scattered far fields, we studied the effect of the substrate on NFO output images, the comparison of NFO output images with electrostatic field around the small object, the dependence of output image characteristics on the wavelength and the difference of imaging characteristics between incident plane waves and incident evanescent waves.     

基于最大和最小光强图像的偏振去雾方法

相对于传统光学探测技术,偏振探测在目标探测、识别方面有着独特的优势。针对雾、霾等天气下图像退化的问题,提出一种利用偏振信息的图像去雾方法,通过获取3个角度下目标的偏振图像,求解出场景目标的斯托克斯矢量,从斯托克斯矢量与穆勒矩阵的关系出发,分析偏振图像光强随着偏振角度的变化规律,获取最大和最小光强下的正交偏振图像,利用偏振滤波和亮通道先验方法分别估算大气光偏振度和其无穷远处大气光强值,最终重构出无雾图像。实验结果表明,在雾霾天气下,利用获取的正交偏振图像能够重构出清晰的图像,且重构图像的平均梯度和边缘强度均提升了约3倍,灰度标准差提升了约88%。     

Round-trip imaging through scattering media based on optical transmission matrix

Traditional one-way imaging methods become invalid when a target object is completely hidden behind scattering media. In this case, it has been much more challenging, since the light wave is distorted twice.To solve this problem, we propose an imaging method, so-called round-trip imaging, based on the optical transmission matrix of the scattering medium. We show that the object can be recovered directly from the distorted output wave, where no scanning is required during the imaging process. We predict that this method might improve the imaging speed and have potential application for real-time imaging.     

Talbot imaging with increased spatial frequency: a technique for replicating truncated self-imaging objects

The Talbot effect in the presence of a convergent beam of coherent light yields a demagnified image of a self-imaging object. In fact, the object does not even have to fulfill the self-imaging condition; the object with truncated self-imaging feature is sufficient to yield an image that is sufficiently accurate for many practical purposes. We have taken this approach to fabricating circular gratings with a reduced period compared to the period of the mask. Using a simple experimental setup and a concentric circular grating mask, we have created images whose periods are either one-half or one-third of the mask's period. Demagnified Talbot imaging of fully or truncated self-imaging objects provides an attractive approach to photolithographic fabrication of structures whose periods are somewhat greater than the wavelength of the light source.     

Noninvasive measurement of scattering anisotropy in turbid materials by nonnormal incident illumination

Many existing methods for the recovery of optical parameters from turbid materials rely on the diffusion approximation, which does not permit the recovery of the degree of anisotropy in the scattering phase function. These methods also make the explicit assumption that light is normally incident at the top surface of the material. We demonstrate a steady-state imaging technique that uses nonnormally incident light to determine anisotropy parameter g by fitting Monte Carlo simulation results to high dynamic range images of the intensity profiles of samples. The proposed method is simpler than existing methods and does not rely on thin samples to produce reasonable results.     

Homodyne and heterodyne imaging through a scattering medium

We introduce a novel two-dimensional (2D) homodyne and heterodyne technique for imaging objects through or embedded in a scattering medium. Our imaging approach is based on heterodyning of light with different Doppler broadenings that is scattered from objects of two different textures or from an opaque object and a textured scattering medium. We report on the initial demonstration of pulling signals out of noise for an object hidden behind a scattering medium. Enhancements of signal-to-noise ratio of the order of 50 have been achieved by use of a 2D holographic phase-sensitive detector. We also discuss the experimental feasibility of this approach for objects embedded in a scattering medium.     

Some efficient methods to correct confocal images for easy interpretation

In this paper we have explained some efficient methods to correct artefacts in confocal laser beam scanning microscope (CLSM) images. The main aim is to enhance object features such that they become clearly visible for interactive evaluation and to reduce the overall noise so that the automatic segmentation and feature measurement can be done easily. A simple automatic-thresholding technique, and a straightforward method to restore the light intensity along the depth of the image stack are proposed. Another problem associated with the CLSM is the non-isotropic resolution. We have presented an interpolation technique based on XOR contouring and morphing to virtually insert the image slices in the image stack for improving the axial resolution. This interpolation technique has the merits of both contour- and intensity-based interpolations. Results of application of these methods on CLSM data are shown.     

Continuous-wave terahertz digital holography by use of a pyroelectric array camera

Terahertz (THz) digital holography is realized based on a 2.52?THz far-IR gas laser and a commercial 124 × 124 pyroelectric array camera. Off-axis THz holograms are obtained by recording interference patterns between light passing through the sample and the reference wave. A numerical reconstruction process is performed to obtain the field distribution at the object surface. Different targets were imaged to test the system's imaging capability. Compared with THz focal plane images, the image quality of the reconstructed images are improved a lot. The results show that the system's imaging resolution can reach at least 0.4 mm. The system also has the potential for real-time imaging application. This study confirms that digital holography is a promising technique for real-time, high-resolution THz imaging, which has extensive application prospects.