Probability theory of intensity correlation in ghost imaging with thermal light

To well reveal the imaging mechanism of ghost imaging (GI) with thermal light, we propose a probability theory using more general assumptions than existing theoretical explanations that the reference patterns obey an arbitrary identical distribution and the objects are of grayscale. It is not limited to a specific correlation function, even multi-functional variants of reference patterns can be used in correlation calculation. We have proven in both theory and experiments that the reconstruction means are linear transformations of original object's gray values and the probabilities of recovered pixel values in the pixel region of the same original gray value follow a Gaussian distribution, whose variance explains the appearance of reconstruction noise. We also derive the relationship between pattern variance and contrast-to-noise ratio under noisy conditions, which will be instructive for better pattern construction. This work will deepen the understanding of GI and enrich intensity correlation forms.     

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.     

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.     

强度涨落在热光鬼成像中的作用

热光鬼成像的图像质量在实际应用中具有重要作用. 通过理论分析和数值模拟, 发现光场的强度涨落程度会影响热光鬼成像的对比度, 基于此, 提出可以通过调节热光场的平均强度和强度波动的方差来提高成像对比度, 并且研究了这一方法对成像信噪比的影响. 将这种方法与另一种提高成像对比度的方法——高阶鬼成像进行了对比, 所得结果将有助于提高对热光鬼成像的理解. 关键词： 鬼成像 强度涨落 对比度 信噪比     

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.     

Optical authentication via photon-synthesized ghost imaging using optical nonlinear correlation

We present a method for optical authentication via photon-synthesized ghost imaging using optical nonlinear correlation. In ghost imaging, multiple series of photons recorded at the object beam arm can be arbitrarily controlled for the generation of synthesized objects. Ghost imaging with sparse reference intensity patterns provides a channel to effectively modulate the noise-like synthesized objects during the recovery, and the reconstructed (noise-like) objects, i.e., added or subtracted information, can be further authenticated by optical nonlinear correlation algorithm. It is expected that the proposed method can provide an effective and promising alternative for ghost-imaging-based optical processing.     

Performance comparison of ghost imaging versus conventional imaging in photon shot noise cases

The performances of ghost imaging and conventional imaging in photon shot noise cases are investigated. We define an imaging signal-to-noise ratio called SNRtranwhere only the object's transmission region is used to evaluate the imaging quality and it can be applied to ghost imaging(GI) with any random pattern. Both the values SNRtran GIof GI and SNRtran CIof conventional imaging in photon shot noise cases are deduced from a simple statistical analysis. The analytical results, which are backed up by numerical simulations, demonstrate that the value SNRtran GIis related to the ratio between the object's transmission area Aoand the number density of photons illuminating the object plane Io, which is similar to the theoretical results based on the first principle of GI with a Gaussian speckle field deduced by B. I. Erkmen and J. H. Shapiro [in Adv. Opt. Photonics 2, 405–450(2010)]. In addition, we also show that the value SNRtran CIwill be larger than SNRtran GIwhen Ao is beyond a threshold value.     

Sub-Rayleigh limit imaging via intensity correlation measurements

We demonstrate sub-Rayleigh limit imaging of an object via intensity correlation measurements. The image completely unaffected by the disturbance of diffraction-limit is achieved under the condition that the imaging system has an appropriate field of view. The resolution of this sub-Rayleigh limit imaging system is only tied to the lateral resolution of the illumination light.     

Fluorescence ghost imaging with pseudothermal light

We extend classical light ghost imaging to the area of fluorescence imaging and propose a new fluorescence imaging method. For the first time, we demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that fluorescence ghost imaging can be realized with pseudothermal light. Important factors influencing the visibility and resolution of the images are discussed to improve the quality of the fluorescence ghost imaging. We hope that this work may pave the road for ghost imaging to biomedical applications.     

Computational ghost imaging with deep compressed sensing

Computational ghost imaging (CGI) provides an elegant framework for indirect imaging, but its application has been restricted by low imaging performance. Herein, we propose a novel approach that significantly improves the imaging performance of CGI. In this scheme, we optimize the conventional CGI data processing algorithm by using a novel compressed sensing (CS) algorithm based on a deep convolution generative adversarial network (DCGAN). CS is used to process the data output by a conventional CGI device. The processed data are trained by a DCGAN to reconstruct the image. Qualitative and quantitative results show that this method significantly improves the quality of reconstructed images by jointly training a generator and the optimization process for reconstruction via meta-learning. Moreover, the background noise can be eliminated well by this method.     

Second-order cumulants ghost imaging

Ghost imaging (GI) is a technique to retrieve images by correlating intensity fluctuations. In this Letter, we present a novel scheme for GI referred to as second-order cumulants GI (SCGI). The image is retrieved from fluctuation information, and resolution may be enhanced compared to traditional GI. We experimentally performed SCGI image reconstruction, and the results are in agreement with theoretical predictions.     

Compressed ghost edge imaging

In this Letter, we propose an advanced framework of ghost edge imaging, named compressed ghost edge imaging(CGEI). In the scheme, a set of structured speckle patterns with pixel shifting illuminate on an unknown object.The output is collected by a bucket detector without any spatial resolution. By using a compressed sensing algorithm, we obtain horizontal and vertical edge information of the unknown object with the bucket detector detection results and the known structured speckle patterns. The edge is finally constructed via twodimensional edge information. The experimental and numerical simulations results show that the proposed scheme has a higher quality and reduces the number of measurements, in comparison with the existing edge detection schemes based on ghost imaging.     

Orthogonal-triangular decomposition ghost imaging

Ghost imaging (GI) offers great potential with respect to conventional imaging techniques. However, there are still some obstacles for reconstructing images with high quality, especially in the case that the orthogonal measurement matrix is impossible to construct. In this paper, we propose a new scheme based on the orthogonal-triangular (QR) decomposition, named QR decomposition ghost imaging (QRGI) to reconstruct a better image with good quality. In the scheme, we can change the randomly non-orthogonal measurement matrix into orthonormal matrix by performing QR decomposition in two cases. (1) When the random measurement matrix is square, it can be firstly decomposed into an orthogonal matrix $bm Q$ and an upper triangular matrix $bm R$. Then let the off-diagonal values of $bm R$ equal to 0.0, the diagonal elements of $bm R$ equal to a constant $k$, where $k$ is the average of all values of the main diagonal, so the resulting measurement matrix can be obtained. (2) When the random measurement matrix is with full rank, we firstly compute its transpose, and followed with above QR operation. Finally, the image of the object can be reconstructed by correlating the new measurement matrix and corresponding bucket values. Both experimental and simulation results verify the feasibility of the proposed QRGI scheme. Moreover, the results also show that the proposed QRGI scheme could improve the imaging quality comparing to traditional GI (TGI) and differential GI (DGI). Besides, in comparison with the singular value decomposition ghost imaging (SVDGI), the imaging quality and the reconstruction time by using QRGI are similar to those by using SVDGI, while the computing time (the time consuming on the light patterns computation) is substantially shortened.     

Iterative filtered ghost imaging

It is generally believed that, in ghost imaging, there has to be a compromise between resolution and visibility. Here we propose and demonstrate an iterative filtered ghost imaging scheme whereby a super-resolution image of a grayscale object is achieved, while at the same time the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and visibility are greatly improved, without adding complexity. The dependence of the SNR, visibility, and resolution on the number of iterations is also investigated and discussed. Moreover, with the use of compressed sensing the sampling number can be reduced to less than 1% of the Nyquist limit, while maintaining image quality with a resolution that can exceed the Rayleigh diffraction bound by more than a factor of 10.     

Depolarization of second-order intensity correlation tensor of light scattered by random orientation of asymmetric particles

Investigation of second-order intensity correlation tensor elements (SOICT) by depolarization measurement of light scattered on orientational fluctuations of asymmetric particles is shown to yield new information on translational and rotational molecular motions.     

Classical far-field phase-sensitive ghost imaging

We report the first (to our knowledge) far-field ghost images formed with phase-sensitive classical-state light and compare them with ghost images of the same object formed with conventional phase-insensitive classical-state light. To generate signal and reference beams with phase-sensitive cross correlation, we used a pair of synchronized spatial light modulators that imposed random, spatially varying, anticorrelated phase modulation on the outputs from 50-50 beam splitting of a laser beam. In agreement with theory, we found the phase-sensitive image to be inverted, whereas the phase-insensitive image is erect, with both having comparable spatial resolutions and signal-to-noise ratios.     

High-order ghost imaging with N-colour thermal light

High-order ghost imaging with thermal light consisting of N different frequencies is investigated. The high-order intensity correlation and intrinsic correlation functions are derived for such N-colour light. It is found that they are similar in form to those for the monochromatic case, thus most of the conclusions we obtained previously for monochromatic Nth-order ghost imaging are still applicable. However, we find that the visibility of the N-colour ghost image depends strongly on the wavelength used to illuminate the object, and increases as this wavelength increases when the test arm is fixed. On the contrary, changes of wavelength in the reference arms do not lead to any change of the visibility.     

Performance of iterative gradient-based algorithms with different intensity change models in digital image correlation

Digital image correlation (DIC) is a non-contact and powerful tool for whole-field displacement and strain measurement in modern optical metrology. In the DIC technique, the gradient-based algorithm is one of the most commonly used sub-pixel registration algorithms due to its effectiveness and accuracy. Thus, this algorithm has been further investigated and improved by many researchers to increase its accuracy. In the existing gradient-based algorithms, there are three relation models for the gray level intensity of a point in the undeformed and deformed images: namely the constant intensity model, the linear intensity change model and the non-linear intensity change model. However, little quantitative investigation has been conducted to compare their performance. In this paper, three iterative gradient-based algorithms are given using the corresponding intensity change model and the iterative least squares (ILS) solving method. The accuracy, robustness and computational efficiency of the three algorithms for intensity variation are investigated through numerical simulation experiments. The experimental results reveal that the algorithm generated using the non-linear intensity change model is the most accurate, robust and efficient of the three algorithms and the algorithms generated using the linear and non-linear intensity change models have approximately the same accuracy when the intensity variation is small between undeformed and deformed images.     

Nonlinear phase shift without cascaded second-order processes and third-order nonlinearity

A new mechanism for obtaining a nonlinear phase shift has been proposed and schemes are described for its implementation. As it is shown, the interference of two waves with intensity-dependent amplitude ratio coming from the second-harmonic generation should produce the nonlinear phase shift. The sign and amount of nonlinear distortion of a beam wavefront is dependent on the relative phase of the waves that is introduced by the phase element. The calculated value of n₂ ^eff exceeds that connected with cascaded quadratic nonlinearity, at the same conditions. Received: 1 November 1999 / Published online: 23 February 2000