Optics-computation co-design for simplified DMD-based infrared super-resolution imaging

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Image Processing
• Infrared Imaging Technology

Background:

• Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) technology offers potential for compact imaging systems.
• Traditional infrared super-resolution imaging often involves complex optical designs.
• Simplifying optical complexity is crucial for developing practical, cost-effective imaging platforms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a system-oriented design-and-reconstruction strategy for simplified DMD-based infrared super-resolution imaging.
• To reduce optical complexity while maintaining or improving image quality.
• To demonstrate the practical potential for compact infrared platforms.

Main Methods:

• Theory-guided design strategy to simplify projection optics.
• Characterization of field-dependent degradation using point spread functions (PSFs).
• Block-wise approximation for spatially variant restoration.
• T-L (TVAL3-Lucy-Richardson) two-stage reconstruction: TV-regularized reconstruction followed by Lucy-Richardson deconvolution.

Main Results:

• Simulations showed average improvements of 78% in peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and 71% in structural similarity index measure (SSIM).
• Laboratory experiments yielded gains of 58.5% in PSNR and 57.1% in SSIM, with improved resolution-bar separability.
• Outdoor tests demonstrated practical potential for recovering fine details in long-range scenes.

Conclusions:

• The proposed strategy effectively enhances infrared super-resolution imaging quality using simplified optics.
• The system offers improved image quality, reduced cost, and increased compactness for infrared platforms.
• This approach holds practical potential for various applications requiring compact and cost-effective infrared imaging solutions.