Computational imaging using lightweight diffractive-refractive optics

Diffractive optical elements (DOE) show great promise for imaging optics that are thinner and more lightweight than conventional refractive lenses while preserving their light efficiency. Unfortunately, severe spectral dispersion currently limits the use of DOEs in consumer-level lens design. In this article, we jointly design lightweight diffractive-refractive optics and post-processing algorithms to enable imaging under white light illumination. Using the Fresnel lens as a general platform, we show three phase-plate designs, including a super-thin stacked plate design, a diffractive-refractive-hybrid lens, and a phase coded-aperture lens. Combined with cross-channel deconvolution algorithm, both spherical and chromatic aberrations are corrected. Experimental results indicate that using our computational imaging approach, diffractive-refractive optics is an alternative candidate to build light efficient and thin optics for white light imaging.