Coded coherent diffraction imaging with reduced binary modulations and low-dynamic-range detection.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Image Reconstruction
• Computational Imaging

Background:

• Coherent Diffraction Imaging (CDI) faces phase retrieval ambiguity due to intensity-only measurements.
• Conventional coded CDI methods improve phase retrieval but are limited by slow imaging speeds and high-dynamic-range acquisition requirements.
• The need for faster and more efficient complex-field imaging techniques is critical in various scientific applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an accelerated coded CDI method that significantly increases imaging speed.
• To overcome the limitations of conventional CDI, including phase ambiguity and slow acquisition.
• To enable high-fidelity reconstruction of both amplitude and phase of an object's complex field.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of an accelerated coded CDI approach using a digital micromirror device for rapid illumination pattern generation (∼22kHz).
• Acquisition of diffraction patterns using only three binarized intensity patterns, each captured in a single shot.
• Development of an adaptive phase retrieval algorithm to handle underexposed pixels and recover object information.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of a significantly accelerated imaging speed compared to conventional CDI methods.
• Successful recovery of both amplitude and phase information with high fidelity, validated through simulations and experiments.
• Overcoming the challenge of underexposed pixels in single-shot acquisitions through adaptive algorithms.

Conclusions:

• The proposed accelerated coded CDI method provides a viable solution for fast and high-fidelity complex-field imaging.
• This technique effectively addresses the trade-off between imaging speed and phase retrieval accuracy in CDI.
• The method holds promise for applications requiring rapid, detailed imaging of complex fields.