Iterative phase retrieval in coherent diffractive imaging: practical issues.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Imaging
• Materials Science

Background:

• Coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) is a powerful lensless imaging technique.
• Object reconstruction in CDI can be prone to artifacts.
• Cross-validation of CDI results with other techniques is often not feasible.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss critical issues in phase retrieval for CDI.
• To provide practical guidance for setting up CDI experiments.
• To ensure artifact-free object reconstructions in CDI.

Main Methods:

• Review of parameters for coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) experiment setup.
• Analysis of common artifacts in CDI phase retrieval.
• Development of strategies to avoid reconstruction artifacts.

Main Results:

• Identification of key parameters influencing CDI reconstruction quality.
• Detailed presentation of common artifacts and their origins.
• Practical recommendations for artifact mitigation in CDI.

Conclusions:

• Robust CDI procedures are essential for reliable object reconstruction.
• Careful experimental design and data analysis are critical.
• The provided guidelines aid in achieving artifact-free CDI imaging.