Thin-type integral imaging method with an organic light emitting diode panel

A thin and lensless two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) convertible display based on integral imaging using an organic light emitting diode (OLED) panel as a direct emissive light source is proposed with improved optical efficiency. A point light source array for 2D-3D convertible display is formed on the surface light source, i.e., the OLED panel. However, a blurring effect and color separation result from the finite (nonzero) size of point light sources since each point light source is generated by a pixel of the OLED panel. Simulation results for a blurring effect and color separation in terms of rays from a light source with finite size is presented. The proposed system has a thin structure and simple convertibility because it does not need any additional optical element to provide 2D-3D convertibility.     

Integral imaging using phase-only LCoS spatial light modulators as Fresnel lenslet arrays

We present a digital integral imaging system. A Fresnel lenslet array pattern is written on a phase-only LCoS spatial light modulator device (SLM) to replace the regular analog lenslet array in a conventional integral imaging system. We theoretically analyze the capture part of the proposed system based on Fresnel wave propagation formulation. Because of pixelation and quantization of the lenslet array pattern, higher diffraction orders and multiple focal points emerge. Because of the multiple focal planes introduced by the discrete lenslets, multiple image planes are observed. The use of discrete lenslet arrays also causes some other artifacts on the recorded elemental images. The results reduce to those available in the literature when the effects introduced by the discrete nature of the lenslets are omitted. We performed simulations of the capture part. It is possible to obtain the elemental images with an acceptable visual quality. We also constructed an optical integral imaging system with both capture and display parts using the proposed discrete Fresnel lenslet array written on a SLM. Optical results when self-luminous objects, such as an LED array, are used indicate that the proposed system yields satisfactory results.     

基于显微光学成像的微细纤维测量识别系统光源优化研究

显微光学成像的纤维识别系统的照明光源,对成像质量有很大影响。由于单个LED光源发光功率有限,且在照射面的光分布不均,导致系统采集到的微纳米级纤维(单丝平均直径15～40μm)图像模糊,影响测量与识别结果的准确性。根据LED的光学特性,对系统的照明光源进行优化设计,设计了3种不同的LED平面光源阵列,并根据LED阵列光源在照射面上的照度表达式,仿真模拟给出LED阵列的照度分布,并以实验进行验证,对系统实际检测的图像进行图像识别处理和图像参数峰值信噪比评价,给出优化结果。研究结果表明,优化后的LED平面光源阵列有效地解决了照度不均导致的微细纤维图像模糊识别不清的问题,优化后得到的纤维样品图像边缘清晰,有效提高了系统检测纤维样品的图像质量,为微细纤维测量识别与研究提供了新的途径。     

Real-time three-dimensional object recognition with multiple perspectives imaging

A novel system for recognizing three-dimensional (3D) objects by use of multiple perspectives imaging is proposed. A 3D object under incoherent illumination is projected into an array of two-dimensional (2D) elemental images by use of a microlens array. Each elemental 2D image corresponds to a different perspective of the 3D object. Multiple perspectives imaging based on integral photography has been used for 3D display. In this way, the whole set of 2D elemental images records 3D information about the input object. After an optical incoherent-to-coherent conversion, an optical processor is employed to perform the correlation between the input and the reference 3D objects. Use of micro-optics allows us to process the 3D information in real time and with a compact optical system. To the best of our knowledge this 3D processor is the first to apply the principle of integral photography to 3D image recognition. We present experimental results obtained with both a digital and an optical implementation of the system. We also show that the system can recognize a slightly out-of-plane rotated 3D object.     

Pixel patterns for voxels in a contact-type three-dimensional imaging system for full-parallax image display

Incomplete voxels, which can be seen only at a part of the viewing zone's cross section in the optical configuration of a full parallax multiview imaging system based on a two-dimensional point light source array, are identified. Their corresponding pixel patterns are found to maximize the space where the voxels can exist in the configuration and to increase the voxel resolution of the displayable three-dimensional images. Furthermore, the pixel patterns for the rhomb-shaped pixel cells are also defined, and some problems related to voxel-based image synthesis are discussed.     

Optical screen for direct projection of integral imaging

We describe a way to display three-dimensional images by integral imaging using an ordinary projector. We first explain a method that uses a large-aperture converging lens, then we explain the proposed method that uses two sets of lens array. Based on the principle of this new approach, front projection as well as rear projection is possible. Only a proper viewing area can be formed on the optical screen by this method, which improves the brightness of images on the screen. The projector itself does not need an additional optical system. We report on the results of an experiment carried out to confirm the validity of the proposed method.     

Microlens arrays for integral imaging system

When designing a system capable of capturing and displaying 3D moving images in real time by the integral imaging (II) method, one challenge is to eliminate pseudoscopic images. To overcome this problem, we propose a simple system with an array of three convex lenses. First, the lateral magnification of the elemental optics and the expansion of an elemental image is described by geometrical optics, confirming that the elemental optics satisfies the conditions under which pseudoscopic images can be avoided. In using the II method, adjacent elemental images must not overlap, a condition also satisfied by the proposed optical system. Next, an experiment carried out to acquire and display 3D images is described. The real-time system we have constructed comprises an elemental optics array with 54 H x 59 V elements, a CCD camera to capture a group of elemental images created by the lens array, and a liquid crystal panel to display these images. The results of the experiment confirm that the system produces orthoscopic images in real time, and thus is effective for real-time application of the II method.     

Wide-viewing-angle integral three-dimensional imaging system by curving a screen and a lens array

A wide-viewing-angle integral three-dimensional imaging system made by curving a screen and a lens array is described. A flexible screen and a curved lens array are incorporated into an integral imaging system in place of a conventional flat display panel and a flat lens array. One can effectively eliminate flipped images by adopting barriers. As a result, the implemented system permits the limitation of viewing angle to be overcome and the viewing angle to be expanded remarkably. Using the proposed method, we were able to achieve a viewing angle of 33 degrees (one side) for real integral imaging and 40 degrees (one side) for virtual integral imaging, which is four times wider than that of the currently used conventional techniques. The principle of the implemented system is explained, and some experimental results are presented.     

Nanophotonic three-dimensional microscope

Three-dimensional (3D) optical microscopy based on integral imaging techniques is limited mainly by diffraction effects and the pitch of the microlens array used to sample the specimen. We integrate nanotechnology to the integral imaging technique and demonstrate a nanophotonic 3D microscope, where a nanophotonic lens array is used to finely sample the specimen. The resolution limitation due to diffraction is reduced by capturing images before the diffraction effects predominate and hence overcomes the bottleneck of achieving high resolution in an integral imaging 3D microscope.     

Three-dimensional image sensing and reconstruction with time-division multiplexed computational integral imaging

A method to compute high-resolution three-dimensional images based on integral imaging is presented. A sequence of integral images (IIs) is captured by means of time-division multiplexing with a moving lenslet array technique. For the acquisition of each II, the location of the lenslet array is shifted periodically within the lenslet pitch in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis. The II sequence obtained by the detector array is processed digitally with superresolution reconstruction algorithms to obtain a reconstructed image, appropriate to a viewing direction, which has a spatial resolution beyond the optical limitation.     

Application of a plastic scintillating fiber array for low-energy x-ray imaging

Interest in digital imaging has led to the development of new detectors in the form of large-area displays. Most of the recent improvements are based on charge-coupled devices, a:Si photodiodes arrays, and so on. Some of these photodetectors must be coupled to scintillating screens to convert the ionizing radiation into light. Fiber-optic screens offer an advantage for achieving this interface because the length (thickness) of the interaction medium does not contribute too much to the degradation of the spatial resolution. We discuss the possibility of using a plastic scintillating fiber (PSF) array for x-ray detection and imaging in the 10-keV range. Modulation-transfer-function (MTF) measurements of the PSF array are compared with the optics MTF of the imaging system (without the sample); cross talk in the fiber array is negligible, even though the fiber array thickness is 20 mm. The optimal thickness of the array is estimated experimentally.     

Magnification of 3D reconstructed images in integral imaging using an intermediate-view reconstruction technique

A new integral imaging (II) system that can magnify 3D reconstructed images by employing an intermediate-view reconstruction technique (IVRT) is proposed in which the number of the elemental images obtained from a one-step pickup process can be computationally increased by use of an IVRT without mechanical movement and a long multistep pickup process. To show the feasibility of the proposed II system, some optical experiments on the magnification of 3D reconstructed images with a real 3D object have been carried out and results are presented.     

Real-Time Imaging through Optical Fiber Array-Assisted Laser-Induced Fluorescence of Capillary Electrophoretic Enantiomer Separations

An advanced detection system based on laser-induced fluorescence imaging for capillary electrophoresis (CE) is presented. An optical fiber array was constructed for collection and transportation of the emitted fluorescent light to the charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The fiber array makes the setup compact compared with a setup where the capillary is imaged through a camera objective. The imaging detector captures the sample zones in motion during the migration through the capillary. This allows unique studies on dynamic events otherwise unrevealed. During the study, unexplained nonlinear migration behavior was revealed. Enantiomer separations of dansylated amino acids using cyclodextrins, imaged between 1.5 and 12 cm of a 28-cm-long 50-μm i.d. capillary, were used for evaluation of the system. Comparing the optical fiber array with a camera lens system, the signal-to-noise-ratio (S/N) was 10 times higher. This is due to a combination of both higher signal and lower noise levels. To improve the S/N ratio further, a computer program for signal processing was designed. Using dichlorofluorescein, a concentration limit of detection (CLOD) of 350 pM was achieved and improved 10 times to 35 pM with computer postprocessing using 79 images. This is equal to 400 zeptomole for a 3-mm-long sample zone in a 50-μm i.d. capillary.     

Speckle-reduced three-dimensional volume holographic display by use of integral imaging

We propose a method to implement a speckle-reduced coherent three-dimensional (3D) display system by a combination of integral imaging and photorefractive volume holographic storage. The 3D real object is imaged through the microlens array and stored in the photorefractive crystal. During the reconstruction process a phase conjugate reading beam is used to minimize aberration, and a rotating diffuser located on the imaging plane of the lens array is employed to reduce the speckle noise. The speckle-reduced 3D image with a wide viewing angle can be reconstructed by use of the proposed system. Experimental results are presented and optical parameters of the proposed system are discussed in detail.     

Depth-enhanced integral imaging display system with electrically variable image planes using polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal layers

A depth-enhanced three-dimensional integral imaging system with electrically variable image planes is proposed. For implementing the variable image planes, polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal (PDLC) films and a projector are adopted as a new display system in the integral imaging. Since the transparencies of PDLC films are electrically controllable, we can make each film diffuse the projected light successively with a different depth from the lens array. As a result, the proposed method enables control of the location of image planes electrically and enhances the depth. The principle of the proposed method is described, and experimental results are also presented.     

Optofluidic Tomography on a Chip

Using lensfree holography we demonstrate optofluidic tomography on a chip. A partially coherent light source is utilized to illuminate the objects flowing within a microfluidic channel placed directly on a digital sensor array. The light source is rotated to record lensfree holograms of the objects at different viewing directions. By capturing multiple frames at each illumination angle, pixel super-resolution techniques are utilized to reconstruct high-resolution transmission images at each angle. Tomograms of flowing objects are then computed through filtered back-projection of these reconstructed lensfree images, thereby enabling optical sectioning on-a-chip. The proof-of-concept is demonstrated by lensfree tomographic imaging of C. elegans.     

Calculation of holograms from elemental images captured by integral photography

We describe a method in which holograms can be produced by calculation from images captured by integral photography (IP). We present a basic algorithm obtained by simulating IP reconstruction, in which conditions are set so as not to cause aliasing in the holograms after the calculations. To reduce the calculation load, we also propose a way to limit the range of calculation considering the distribution of light and a way to shift the optical field on the exit plane of microlenses in a lens array. Finally, by optical experiments, we confirm that three-dimensional images can be reconstructed from holograms calculated from an integral photograph of a real object captured with an IP camera.     

Optimum method of image acquisition using sawtooth-shaped-function optical signal to improve grey-scale resolution

Abstract

The subtle changes in the images are determined to some extent by the grey-scale resolution. This paper presents a method used for optimizing the grey-scale resolution of the acquired images. The optical source is modulated by the sawtooth-shaped-function signal, and the acquired images by the sensor are processed by the frame accumulation technology. Compared to the traditional method using the optical source with constant intensity, this method can greatly improve the grey-scale resolution of images by more than 1 bit under the condition of low energy light. Based on the method, we can not only obtain higher quality images but also conserve energy, which is very important in the field of fluorescence imaging, biomedical imaging, face recognition and security system.     

Improved analysis on the viewing angle of integral imaging

There have already been several analyses about the viewing angle of integral imaging (InIm). However, they can be applied only under the assumption that the original image is merely a single point source and are not suitable for application to an actual condition. We propose an improved analysis based on the actual InIm image, not on a single point source. It is possible to analyze and predict the viewing angle of an InIm system with good accuracy with the new analytic method because almost all the parameters of the InIm system such as the size and focal length of the lens array, image distance, the size and resolution of the image, and the location of the observers are included in this analysis.     

Geometrical analysis of an optical fiber bundle displacement sensor

The performance of a multifiber optical lever was geometrically analyzed by extending the Cook and Hamm model [Appl. Opt. 34, 5854-5860 (1995)] for a basic seven-fiber optical lever. The generalized relationships between sensitivity and the displacement detection limit to the fiber core radius, illumination irradiance, and coupling angle were obtained by analyses of three various types of light source, i.e., a parallel beam light source, an infinite plane light source, and a point light source. The analysis of the point light source was confirmed by a measurement that used the light source of a light-emitting diode. The sensitivity of the fiber-optic lever is inversely proportional to the fiber core radius, whereas the receiving light power is proportional to the number of illuminating and receiving fibers. Thus, the bundling of the finer fiber with the larger number of illuminating and receiving fibers is more effective for improving sensitivity and the displacement detection limit.