Optical System Design for Off-Axis Polarization Super-Resolution Imaging with Four Sub-Apertures

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Image Processing
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Super-resolution imaging is crucial for detailed analysis.
• Simultaneous polarization imaging offers rich information but faces design challenges.
• Aberration correction and distortion suppression are critical for high-fidelity reconstruction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel dual-aperture, simultaneous-polarization super-resolution imaging system.
• To achieve broadband, high-resolution imaging with a compact and lightweight design.
• To effectively correct aberrations and suppress distortion for improved image reconstruction.

Main Methods:

• Combined total internal reflection optics with a digital micromirror device (DMD).
• Utilized reflective Wassermann-Wolf differential equations and Seidel aberration theory for aberration correction.
• Introduced a custom merit function to constrain chief-ray positions and suppress distortion.

Main Results:

• Achieved F/2.5 system aperture.
• Reduced grid distortion to below ±0.5%.
• Demonstrated near-diffraction-limited performance across all polarization channels.

Conclusions:

• The proposed system enables robust, high-resolution polarization imaging.
• The design effectively corrects aberrations and minimizes distortion.
• The compact and simultaneous polarization capabilities offer significant advantages for advanced imaging applications.