Daniel Claus

Information multiplexing in ptychography

We show for the first time that ptychography (a form of lensless diffractive imaging) can recover the spectral response of an object through simultaneous reconstruction of multiple images that represent the objects response to a particular mode present in the illumination. We solve the phase problem for each mode independently, even though the intensity arriving at every detector pixel is an incoherent superposition of several uncorrelated diffracted waves. Until recently, the addition of incoherent modes has been seen as a nuisance in diffractive imaging: here we show that not only can the difficulties they pose be removed, but that they can also be used to discover much more information about the object. If the illumination function is also mode-specific, we show that we can also solve simultaneously for a multiplicity of such illumination modes. The work opens exciting possibilities for information multiplexing in ptychography over all visible, X-ray and electron wavelengths.

Quantitative space-bandwidth product analysis in digital holography

The space-bandwidth product (SBP) is a measure for the information capacity an optical system possesses. The two information processing steps in digital holography, recording, and reconstruction are analyzed with respect to the SBP. The recording setups for a Fresnel hologram, Fourier hologram, and image-plane hologram, which represent the most commonly used setup configurations in digital holography, are investigated. For the recording process, the required SBP to ensure the recording of the entire object information is calculated. This is accomplished by analyzing the recorded interference pattern in the hologram-plane. The paraxial diffraction model is used in order to simulate the light propagation from the object to hologram-plane. The SBP in the reconstruction process is represented by the product of the reconstructed field-of-view and spatial frequency bandwidth. The outcome of this analysis results in the best SBP adapted digital holographic setup.

Analysis and interpretation of the Seidel aberration coefficients in digital holography

The most commonly used configurations in digital holography-namely Fourier holograms, Fresnel holograms, and image-plane holograms-are analyzed with respect to Seidels wave aberration theory. This analysis is performed by taking into account the phase terms involved in the recording and reconstruction processes. The combined phase term from both processes is compared with the Gaussian-reference sphere, from which the wave aberration terms can be obtained. In conjunction with the analysis, for each of the aberration terms, conditions can be set to eliminate them. Wave aberrations are plotted to show how strongly different setups are affected.

Quantitative phase contrast optimised cancerous cell differentiation via ptychography

This paper shows that visible-light ptychography can be used to distinguish quantitatively between healthy and tumorous unstained cells. Advantages of ptychography in comparison to conventional phase-sensitive imaging techniques are highlighted. A novel procedure to automatically refocus ptychographic reconstructions is also presented, which improves quantitative analysis.

Dual wavelength optical metrology using ptychography

We describe an experimental implementation of ptychography to optical metrology, in particular topography measurement, in combination with the dual wavelength method. This is the first published account of the application of the dual wavelength method to ptychography or any other phase retrieval method in order to obtain surface height information over a wide range of scales, from small fractions of a wavelength up to many tens of wavelengths, in reflection mode. Moreover, the work presented here is the first report on the application of lensless reflection mode ptychography. Advantages of the ptychographic dual wavelength method are compared with other optical topography measurement techniques, especially with respect to the experimental procedures and constraints and the analysis of the data. We show that dual wavelength ptychography can remove material-specific phase changes which adversely affect topography measurements using white light profilometry.

Optical parameters and space–bandwidth product optimization in digital holographic microscopy

This paper considers some of the most important optical parameters that characterize a digital holographic microscope (DHM) and presents their mathematical derivation based on geometrical and diffraction-based models. It supports and justifies the use of the out-of-focus recording of holograms by showing that the field of view can be increased when recording the hologram in front of the in-focus image plane. In this manner a better match between the space-bandwidth product (SBP) of the microscope objective and that of the reconstructed hologram can be obtained. Hence, DHM offers a more cost-efficient way to increase the recorded SBP compared to the application of a high-quality microscope objective (large numerical aperture and low magnification) used in conventional microscopy. Furthermore, an expression for the imaging distance (distance between hologram and image plane), while maintaining the optical resolution and sufficient sampling, is obtained. This expression takes into account all kinds of reference-wave curvature and can easily be transferred to lensless digital holography. In this context it could be demonstrated that an object wave matched reference wave offers a significantly smaller imaging distance and hence the largest recoverable SBP. In addition, a new, to our knowledge, approach, based on the influence of defocus on the modulation transfer function, is used to derive the depth of field (DOF) for a circular aperture (lens-based system) and a rectangular aperture (lensless system), respectively. This investigation leads to the finding that a rectangular aperture offers an increased resolution combined with an increased DOF, when compared to a circular aperture of the same size.

High-resolution digital holography utilized by the subpixel sampling method

A novel (to our knowledge) approach for resolution improvement in digital holography is presented in this paper. The proposed method is based on recording the incoming interference field on a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera with subpixel resolution. The method takes advantage of the small pixel size of the CMOS sensor, while overcoming the reduced fill factor. This paper describes the experimental and numerical procedures. The improvement of the obtainable optical resolution, image quality, and phase measurement accuracy are demonstrated within this paper.

Pixel size adjustment in coherent diffractive imaging within the Rayleigh–Sommerfeld regime

The reconstruction of the smallest resolvable object detail in digital holography and coherent diffractive imaging when the detector is mounted close to the object of interest is restricted by the sensors pixel size. Very high resolution information is intrinsically encoded in the data because the effective numerical aperture (NA) of the detector (its solid angular size as subtended at the object plane) is very high. The correct physical propagation model to use in the reconstruction process for this setup should be based on the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction integral, which is commonly implemented via a convolution operation. However, the convolution operation has the drawback that the pixel size of the propagation calculation is preserved between the object and the detector, and so the maximum resolution of the reconstruction is limited by the detector pixel size, not its effective NA. Here we show that this problem can be overcome via the introduction of a numerical spherical lens with adjustable magnification. This approach enables the reconstruction of object details smaller than the detector pixel size or of objects that extend beyond the size of the detector. It will have applications in all forms of near-field lensless microscopy.

Comparison of different digital holographic setup configurations

This paper presents a comparison of the most commonly applied digital holographic setups, namely Fourier hologram, Fresnel hologram and Image-plane hologram.

Ptychography: a novel phase retrieval technique, advantages and its application

This paper is intended to introduce ptychography, a novel and very promising phase retrieval technique. It is based on the lens-less recording of a series of diffraction patterns caused by coherent object illumination. In the visible region of light, ptychography has successfully been implemented for visible light microscopy and optical metrology. Ptychography has also successfully been applied to X-ray microscopy where it is difficult to manufacture good quality lenses and where, at high X-ray energies, absorption contrast is low but where phase contrast is significant. In the course of this paper theoretical fundamentals of ptychography are explained, advantages in comparison to traditional optical techniques are represented and applications are shown.