Contiguous perfect coded aperture patterns with high throughput

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Image Reconstruction
• Materials Science

Background:

• Coded aperture imaging utilizes patterned masks to enhance resolution and sensitivity.
• Existing coded apertures often face limitations in throughput, structural integrity, or fabrication complexity.
• Uniformly redundant arrays (URAs) and modified URAs offer good imaging performance but can be challenging to fabricate as self-supporting structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for creating high-throughput, contiguous coded aperture patterns.
• To present parameters for generating these apertures for various pattern orders.
• To evaluate the imaging quality and structural properties of the novel apertures.

Main Methods:

• Mosaicking linear uniformly redundant arrays (URAs) and modified URAs onto a square lattice.
• Developing parameters for generating contiguous apertures up to 300 elements.
• Investigating the impact of supporting weaker aperture areas.

Main Results:

• Successfully created contiguous coded aperture patterns with approximately 50% throughput.
• Achieved high-throughput contiguous apertures in dimensions previously unavailable.
• Demonstrated imaging quality comparable to URAs and modified URAs, superior to other self-supporting apertures.
• Characterized the effect of support structures on aperture performance.

Conclusions:

• The novel mosaicking method yields high-throughput, contiguous coded apertures with excellent imaging properties.
• These apertures offer enhanced rigidity and are suitable for applications requiring active collimation.
• The presented parameters facilitate the design of advanced coded aperture systems.