Experiments and analyses of a new type optical system for computed radiography

A new high-performance laser scanning system is designed. In this system, a scanning arm consisting of a pentagonal prism and a scanning object lens is used to replace the traditional Fθ lens, and a circular imaging plate transmission mechanism is specially designed in order to meet the requirement of the scanning arm. At the same time, the stimulation fluorescence can be obtained by the scanning arm. Some main factors that influence the spatial resolution and the performance of the laser scanner system are analyzed, and the analysis results are presented, which is helpful for further optimization design of the system. Experimental results indicate that the images obtained by the system have good visual effects and can meet the requirements of industrial inspection.     

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.     

Evanescent waves of an annular left-handed material lens

The imaging system formed by an annular left-handed material （LHM） lens as well as the evanescent waves in the lens are simulated numerically with a finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） method. For b - a 〉 λ （a and b are respectively the inner and outer radii of the annular lens, and λ is the wavelength）, when a point source is placed at an internal grid point, we demonstrate that the evanescent waves are produced around the internal interface, and cannot propagate outwards. As for b - a 〈λ ）,, the evanescent waves appear around both the internal and the external interfaces, which remarkably implies the coupling between the two interfaces. Hence it can be inferred that the evanescent waves around the external interface participating in the super-resolution imaging result from the coupling of the evanescent waves around the interface. Moreover, the partly uncomprehended properties of the evanescent waves in the LHM slab are also disclosed. It is conducive to understanding the evanescent waves in the LHMs further.     

Optical transmission enhancement by a sub-wavelength film lens

A new sub-wavelength metallic film lens configuration is proposed, which is embedded in a thin ideal metal film, and its near field optical properties arc investigated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. It is found that the optical transmission is greatly enhanced, and the spot size can be reduced by the sub-wavelength metallic film lens in comparison with the bare aperture. This kind of lens is expected to have practical applications in the very small aperture laser (VSAL), a promising nanosource for near-field optical storage and lithography.     

Color ghost imaging via sparsity constraint and non-local self-similarity

We propose a color ghost imaging approach where the object is illuminated by three-color non-orthogonal random patterns. The object’s reflection/transmission information is received by only one single-pixel detector, and both the sparsity constraint and non-local self-similarity of the object are utilized in the image reconstruction process. Numerical simulation results demonstrate that the imaging quality can be obviously enhanced by ghost imaging via sparsity constraint and nonlocal self-similarity(GISCNL), compared with the reconstruction methods where only the object’s sparsity is used. Factors affecting the quality of GISCNL, such as the measurement number and the detection signal-to-noise ratio, are also studied.     

An enhanced method for fast generation of hologram sub-lines

Sub-lines are one-dimensional diffraction patterns representing the light beams emerging from horizontal planes of an object image. Past research has demonstrated that the sub-lines can be encapsulated as a multi-bank filtering process, and implemented with a field programmable gate array （FPGA） device. As the complexity of the filters is high, their length and the number of input pins have to be reduced substantially, hence leading to degradation on the reconstructed images. We propose an enhanced method to overcome the problem by binarizing the filters＇ coefficients, and half-toning the pixel intensities of the object image. Experimental evaluation reveals that our method results in reconstructed images are superior to that obtained with the parent method.     

Ultra-high-speed single red–green–blue light-emitting diode-based visible light communication system utilizing advanced modulation formats简

We propose an integral imaging system that uses three lens arrays, including two convex lens arrays and a concave lens array. Compared with the conventional integral imaging system, the proposed system can remarkably enhance the viewing angle. The maximum viewing angle can be enlarged to 48~, which is 4.8 times wider than that of the conventional system. The principle of the proposed system is elucidated, and the experimental results are presented in this letter.     

Lensless Wiener–Khinchin telescope based on second-order spatial autocorrelation of thermal light

The resolution of a conventional imaging system based on first-order field correlation can be directly obtained from the optical transfer function. However, it is challenging to determine the resolution of an imaging system through random media, including imaging through scattering media and imaging through randomly inhomogeneous media, since the point-to-point correspondence between the object and the image plane in these systems cannot be established by the first-order field correlation anymore. In this Letter, from the perspective of ghost imaging, we demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that the point-to-point correspondence in these imaging systems can be quantitatively recovered from the second-order correlation of light fields, and the imaging capability, such as resolution, of such imaging schemes can thus be derived by analyzing second-order autocorrelation of the optical transfer function. Based on this theoretical analysis, we propose a lensless Wiener–Khinchin telescope based on second-order spatial autocorrelation of thermal light, which can acquire the image of an object by a snapshot via using a spatial random phase modulator. As an incoherent imaging approach illuminated by thermal light, the lensless Wiener–Khinchin telescope can be applied in many fields such as X-ray astronomical observations.     

Viewing angle-enhanced integral imaging system using three lens arrays

We propose an integral imaging system that uses three lens arrays,including two convex lens arrays and a concave lens array.Compared with the conventional integral imaging system,the proposed system can remarkably enhance the viewing angle.The maximum viewing angle can be enlarged to 48°,which is 4.8times wider than that of the conventional system.The principle of the proposed system is elucidated,and the experimental results are presented in this letter.     

Focusing of a Flat Left-Handed Metamaterial Lens in a Heterogeneous and Lossy Medium

For applications such as near-field target detection and tumor hyperthermia with a fiat left-handed metamaterial （LHM） lens, a microwave will be focused in the heterogeneous and lossy medium. Different from the focusing of a fiat LHM lens in vacuum as reported in most previous studies, the medium loss and heterogeneity will affect the focusing performance of the LHM lens. Numerical simulations indicate that the medium loss will degrade the focusing resolution, while the heterogeneity of random variability within ±30% will affect the focusing resolution to a limited extent. Both the loss and heterogeneity of the medium will shift the focal point away from the image plane. When focusing in a medium with different permittivity values, an LHM lens will also have different focusing resolutions due to different electric thicknesses.     

基于特异材料的非完美透镜成像

There is widespread and strong interest in trying to fabricate a metamaterial in which both the permittivity and permeability are equal to -1 in order to achieve sub-wavelength imaging. Several metamaterial constructs have been proposed with varying degrees of success because of inherent losses, limited bandwidth and scattering from the abstracted circuit elements constituting the artificial material itself. A further limitation is the need to capture evanescent components from the object to be imaged that ...     

Sub-wavelength imaging with a left-handed material flat lens

We study numerically, by means of the pseudospectral time-domain method, the unique features of imaging by a flat lens made of a left-handed metamaterial that possesses the property of negative refraction. We confirm the earlier finding that a left-handed flat lens can provide near-perfect imaging of a point source and a pair of point sources with clear evidence of sub-wavelength resolution. We illustrate the limitation of the resolution in the time-integrated image due to the presence of surface waves.     

Sub-wavelength and non-periodic holes array based fully lensless imager

We present a novel concept for microscopic imaging. The proposed microscope-like device does not include an objective lens neither a condenser. Instead, a metallic plate of sub-wavelength hole-array with a varying pitch is used to illuminate the inspected object that is mounted very close to it. As a result, the transmitted spectrum through each hole differs from the others and therefore, each spot of the detected object is illuminated with a unique spectrum. By measuring a single spectrum that is the sum of all the spectra that are transmitted through the sample and by using spectral decomposition algorithms, the spatial transmission pattern of the object can be extracted.     

Bridging the terahertz near-field and far-field observations of liquid crystal based metamaterial absorbers

Metamaterial-based absorbers play a significant role in applications ranging from energy harvesting and thermal emitters to sensors and imaging devices.The middle dielectric layer of conventional metamaterial absorbers has always been solid.Researchers could not detect the near field distribution in this layer or utilize it effectively.Here,we use anisotropic liquid crystal as the dielectric layer to realize electrically fast tunable terahertz metamaterial absorbers.We demonstrate strong,position-dependent terahertz near-field enhancement with sub-wavelength resolution inside the metamaterial absorber.We measure the terahertz far-field absorption as the driving voltage increases.By combining experimental results with liquid crystal simulations,we verify the near-field distribution in the middle layer indirectly and bridge the nearfield and far-field observations.Our work opens new opportunities for creating high-performance,fast,tunable,terahertz metamaterial devices that can be applied in biological imaging and sensing.     

Sub-diffraction-limited magnified Talbot imaging in cylindrical metamaterial

We numerically demonstrated the sub-diffraction-limited magnified Talbot imaging in a metamaterial composed of cylindrical stacked metal/dielectric multilayer. It was found that the magnified Talbot imaging could occur without the requirement of the metal/dielectric permittivity matching condition as satisfied in the hyperlens. Specifically, in this work, a practical realization of the magnified Talbot imaging was performed by Ag/Al₂O₃ multilayer stack at the wavelength of 337 nm. Unlike the traditional Talbot effect, the Talbot length in this case is not a constant but a variable and the variable Talbot length can be predicted roughly by ray optics approach. The contrast of the magnified Talbot imaging is decided by both the imaginary part and the real part in permittivity of the metamaterial. In order to obtain a deep sub-wavelength magnified Talbot image at the outer surface of the cylindrical metamaterial, the outer cylindrical radius should be optimized and the imaginary part in the permittivity should be small enough.     

微球透镜亚波长显微成像远场特性实验研究

利用低折射率的二氧化硅和高折射率的钛酸钡微球透镜对蓝光刻录光碟的亚波长表面结构进行了显微成像实验,观察了两类微球在空间上与样品表面分离时的成像特性.实验结果表明:在微球透镜与样品表面分离0～6μm的空间范围内,微球透镜对亚波长纳米结构仍具有分辨能力,且放大作用明显.通过实验比较,发现在浸没方式、放大率大小、成像尺度范围...     

Super-thin cloaks mediated by spoof surface plasmons

We demonstrated the possibility of designing super-thin electromagnetic cloaks based on spoof surface plasmon (SSP). Using a metamaterial layer, incident waves can be coupled into SSP efficiently at the air/metamaterial interface. Due to the strong surface confinement of SSP, EM waves are squeezed into and propagate in deep sub-wavelength scales. Implementation of an 8.2 GHz cloak less than 1/50 the cloaking diameter was presented using split ring resonator (SRR). Excellent cloaking effect was verified by simulations. Rather than isolating objects from the background, such cloaks can drastically enhance the field intensity around the cloaked object. This is of particular importance in applications such as weak wave detection and near-field sensing.     

Veselago’s lens consisting of left-handed materials with arbitrary index of refraction

We study Veselago’s lens with arbitrary index of refraction and characteristic impedance. Using a full wave optics calculation, we show that this lens can be considered as an imaging system and we derive the appropriate lens formula. The lens with arbitrary index and impedance retains some of the properties of the matched lens, such as the invariance of its optical axis, three-dimensional imaging and easy manufacturing, but it loses the property of sub-wavelength resolution. We also show that identical results can be obtained for the impedance matched lens in the framework of paraxial geometrical optics, from which it can be inferred that optical systems containing such a lens can be studied and designed using traditional ray-tracing tools.     

微球透镜对亚波长表面结构的显微成像研究

为了研究微球透镜对亚波长物体的成像特性,利用直径为3.4μm的二氧化硅微球透镜对刻录蓝光光碟的亚波长表面结构进行了显微成像实验,观察了不同排列方式和液体浸没深度下微球透镜的成像特性。实验结果表明:微球透镜在不同浸没深度下对亚波长表面结构具有放大作用,放大率为1.2~1.8倍,并且通过微球透镜的密排列,可以获得更大的视场;浸没液体深度增大时,图像的放大率减小,视场增大。基于时域有限差分的电场仿真表明,微球透镜可以将光场汇聚成半高全宽为260nm,纵向可持续几个微米的高强度光区域,引起强的背景散射,从而获得普通光学显微镜不能分辨的亚波长表面结构图像。     

Fourier optics approach to imaging with sub-wavelength resolution through metal-dielectric multilayers

Metal-dielectric layered stacks for imaging with sub-wavelength resolution are regarded as linear isoplanatic systems — a concept popular in Fourier optics and in scalar diffraction theory. In this context, a layered flat lens is a one-dimensional spatial filter characterised by the point spread function. However, depending on the model of the source, the definition of the point spread function for multilayers with sub-wavelength resolution may be formulated in several ways. Here, a distinction is made between a soft source and hard electric or magnetic sources. Each of these definitions leads to a different meaning of perfect imaging. It is shown that some simple interpretations of the PSF, such as the relation of its width to the resolution of the imaging system are ambiguous for the multilayers with sub-wavelenth resolution. These differences must be observed in point spread function engineering of layered systems with sub-wavelength sized PSF.