Complex wavefront reconstruction from multiple-image planes produced by a focus tunable lens

We propose, through simulations and experiments, a wavefront reconstruction technique using a focus-tunable lens and a phase-retrieval technique. A collimated beam illuminates a complex object (amplitude and phase), and a diffuser then modulates the outgoing wavefront. Finally the diffracted complex field reaches the focus-tunable lens, and a CMOS camera positioned at a fixed plane registers the subjective speckle distribution produced by the lens (one pattern for each focal length). We have demonstrated that a tunable lens can replace the translation stage used in the conventional single-beam, multiple-intensity reconstruction algorithm. In other words, through iterations with a modified version of this algorithm, the speckle images produced by different focal lengths can be successfully employed to recover the initial complex object. With no movable elements, (speckle) image sampling can be performed at high frame rates, which is suitable for dynamical reconstruction applications.