Manufacturing large area diffractive lenses (DLs) is a challenging task, as in many cases, the outermost zone width
surpasses the photolithography limit and even the wavelength limit. In this study, a computational imaging method is
proposed which allows realizing a single large area strong DL with multiple sub-aperture weak DLs. The sub-aperture
DLs collect light and focus it into multiple points within the area of the image sensor instead of a single point which
increases the width of the zones of the DL. A computational reconstruction method was applied to reconstruct a high-resolution
image from the multiple low-resolution images.
Manufacturing diffractive lenses with a high numerical aperture (NA) is often a challenging task. The challenge stems from the fundamental limit of lithography techniques and the diffraction limit. Photolithography and femtosecond ablation are some of the well-established rapid lithography techniques for manufacturing large-area diffractive lenses for the visible region. First, when high NA diffractive lenses are designed, the outermost width of the zone becomes a sub-lithography limit (~ 2 μm) while still being super-wavelength. In advanced photolithography and most femtosecond ablation methods, the lithography limit is sub-wavelength, but scalar diffraction is not applicable, and the device becomes polarization sensitive. In this study, a holographic solution to overcome the above limitations is proposed. Fresnel incoherent correlation holography (FINCH) is a super-resolution incoherent imaging technique. In this project, a FINCH-inspired optical configuration is proposed to image beyond the lithography and diffraction limit of the diffractive lens. In a regular imaging system, the light from an object is collected by a diffractive lens and imaged, and recorded by an image sensor in the image plane. In this work, the intensity distribution is not recorded at the image plane but at a plane where the light modulated by the diffractive lens interferes with the unmodulated light outside the diffractive lens. This intensity distribution has spatial frequencies beyond the limit of the NA of the diffractive lens, resulting in super-resolution. Using the newly developed Lucy-Richardson-Rosen algorithm (LR2A), the image is reconstructed. We believe that the developed technique will improve the performance of imaging systems based on high-NA diffractive lenses.
A computational imaging technique using a lens and Lucy-Richardson-Rosen algorithm (LRRA) has been developed for 3D imaging. A deep 3D point spread function (PSF) was recorded in the first step. A single camera shot of an object was recorded next. Using the 3D PSF and the LRRA, the complete 3D information of the object was reconstructed. In this configuration, direct imaging and indirect imaging concepts co-exist: when the imaging condition is satisfied, an image of the object is directly obtained and in other cases it is indirectly obtained. The proposed single lens incoherent digital holography system will be attractive for numerous imaging applications.
The near infrared (NIR) part of the infrared synchrotron beam is usually discarded to improve the signal to noise ratio of spectral imaging at the Australian Synchrotron. In this study, NIR synchrotron beam has been extracted and used for three-dimensional (3D) imaging. A Fresnel zone aperture (FZA) was fabricated on barium fluoride windows using femtosecond ablation. The 3D point spread functions (PSFs) were recorded using the FZA mounted between the pinhole and the image sensor. An object is then placed within the boundaries of the PSF library and an object intensity distribution was recorded. Computational reconstruction methods were applied to reconstruct the object information.
The near infrared (NIR) part of the infrared synchrotron beam is usually dumped to improve the signal to noise ratio of spectral imaging. In this study, this NIR synchrotron beam has been extracted and used for three-dimensional (3D) phase imaging. A pinhole was inserted in the path of the fork shaped NIR synchrotron beam and the Airy diffraction pattern was aligned with biochemical samples and the diffracted intensity distribution was captured using an image sensor sensitive to NIR. A phase retrieval algorithm was used to estimate the 3D phase distribution at the object plane from the recorded intensity distribution.
A 4D computational incoherent imaging technique using accelerating Airy beams (A2-beams) and nonlinear reconstruction (NLR) has been developed. The phase mask was designed as a binary version for the generation of a sparse random array of A2-beams. The imaging process consist of three steps. In the first step a 4D point spread function (PSF) was recorded at different wavelengths and depths. In the next step, a multicolor, multiplane object was loaded and a single camera shot was recorded. Finally, the 4D information of the object was reconstructed by processing the object intensity distribution and 4D PSFs. The simulation results for the imaging concept are presented.
Antireflection patterns for optical elements used in astro-photonic applications require optimisation for different wavelengths, a defined angular selectivity and have to be made on large curved surfaces. Sputtered film of tens-of-nm of gold was annealed at 500°C for 1 hour to form a pattern of nano-islands used as a mask for plasma etching. Separation between islands depended on the annealing time and an initial film thickness and provides a method to control a characteristic length between etched nano-pillars. Fabricated surfaces were characterised by transmission and reflection spectroscopy.
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