Possibility of an optical focal shift with polarization masks

The polarization phase shift (PPS) has emerged as an important analytical tool in optical metrology. The present study utilizes the concept of controlling the polarization phase in applications such as focal shift and automatic focusing. When elliptically polarized light, in general, is incident upon a circularly symmetric polarization mask consisting of circular and annular zones with each zone having a unique linear polarizability, the polarization-phase difference introduced between the polarization-masked zones is also circularly symmetric. With the mask at the lens aperture, the polarization phase introduced is multiplicative with the lens function and is shown to result in a shift of the Gaussian focus plane. Because the polarization phase can be controlled by variation of the polarization parameters, the effective focal length of the imaging system can be varied within a small range. A study of the point-spread functions at the shifted focal planes has shown that the quality of the focal patch in these planes is comparable with that produced by a diffraction-limited imaging system at Gaussian focus. The shift of focus can be achieved by control of the polarization of the input beam. It is anticipated that this technique may find application in areas for which dynamic focusing within a small range is required.     

Effects of multilevel phase masks on interpixel cross talk in digital holographic storage

We study the interpixel cross talk introduced to digital holographic data storage by use of a multilevel phase mask at the data-input plane. We evaluate numerically the intensity distribution at the output detector for Fourier plane hologram storage in a limited-aperture storage medium. Only the effect at an output pixel of interpixel cross talk from the four horizontal and vertical neighboring pixels is considered, permitting systematic evaluation of all possibilities. For random two-level and pseudorandom six-level phase masks, the influence of the pixel fill factor, as well as the aperture size of the storage medium, is studied. Our simulations show that, for a given aperture size, a random two-level mask is more susceptible to interpixel cross talk than is a pseudorandom six-level mask. Decreasing the pixel fill factor below 94% with a pseudorandom six-level phase mask makes it theoretically possible to have a system with no errors from interpixel cross talk if one particular 5-pixel pattern is forbidden through modulation coding. Reducing the input fill factor below 85% means that no patterns need to be excluded.     

Optical synthetic aperture radar

A method is proposed for increasing the resolution of an object and overcoming the diffraction limit of an optical system installed on top of a moving imaging system, such as an airborne platform or satellite. The resolution improvement is obtained via a two-step process. First, three low resolution differently defocused images are captured and the optical phase is retrieved using an improved iterative Gershberg–Saxton based algorithm. The phase retrieval allows numerical back propagation of the field to the aperture plane. Second, the imaging system is shifted and the first step is repeated. The obtained optical fields at the aperture plane are combined and a synthetically increased lens aperture is generated along the direction of movement, yielding higher imaging resolution. The method resembles a well-known approach from the microwave regime called the synthetic aperture radar in which the antenna size is synthetically increased along the platform propagation direction. The proposed method is demonstrated via Matlab simulation as well as through laboratory experiment.     

Quality parameters analysis of optical imaging systems with enhanced focal depth using the Wigner distribution function

An analysis of the Strehl ratio and the optical transfer function as imaging quality parameters of optical elements with enhanced focal length is carried out by employing the Wigner distribution function. To this end, we use four different pupil functions: a full circular aperture, a hyper-Gaussian aperture, a quartic phase plate, and a logarithmic phase mask. A comparison is performed between the quality parameters and test images formed by these pupil functions at different defocus distances.     

Two-dimensional polarization rotator using a twisted-nematic liquid-crystal display

We present a novel configuration for a twisted-nematic liquid-crystal display (TN-LCD) that makes it operate as a controllable polarization rotator. We extend a previously reported polarization rotator configuration using a zero-twist LCD inserted between two quarter-wave plates. We first operate the TN-LCD in the polarization eigenvector configuration and show how this system can act as an equivalent voltage-controlled wave plate. Next we incorporate this wave plate into the optical rotator configuration. We show that the plane of polarization of the transmitted light can be rotated as a function of the phase introduced by the display. Finally, we create a 2D polarization mask where different areas of the TN-LCD form different polarization states. Experimental results are included.     

Superresolution in far-field imaging

We demonstrate the feasibility of achieving superresolved images by using Fourier-plane phase masks and image multiplication, which together create effective point-spread functions that are not positive definite and therefore cannot be created by any single Fourier plane mask in a linear system. Three different configurations were investigated, all of which gave a spatial resolution exceeding that corresponding to the full open aperture of the optical system. One price that must be paid for the superresolution is inefficient use of the light source.     

Pattern composed of two-dimensional diffusion dots for showing dynamic images

A new type of diffusion pattern is proposed. The proposed patterns are composed of 2D diffusion dots. The diffusion dots are created on a photoresist plate by recording the image of a local area of a piece of ground glass dot by dot. An imaging lens covered by a mask with a slit aperture is used to form the image. By changing the orientation of the slit aperture on the mask plane, the diffusion dots can have different microintensity distributions for the same incident light beam. Therefore the diffusion dots created by the same slit aperture orientation show the same brightness, and the diffusion dots created by different slit orientations show different brightness for the same illuminating and viewing conditions. Thus a proposed diffusion pattern can show dynamic images by changing its illuminating or viewing directions. By applying the double-exposure technique to the diffusion dots of a pattern, the pattern not only can show dynamic effects but also can possess several hidden features for identifying the pattern. Therefore the proposed patterns are dynamic and anticounterfeiting.     

Optical encryption system that uses phase conjugation in a photorefractive crystal

We implement an optical encryption system based on double-random phase encoding of the data at the input and the Fourier planes. In our method we decrypt the image by generating a conjugate of the encrypted image through phase conjugation in a photorefractive crystal. The use of phase conjugation results in near-diffraction-limited imaging. Also, the key that is used during encryption can also be used for decrypting the data, thereby alleviating the need for using a conjugate of the key. The effect of a finite space-bandwidth product of the random phase mask on the encryption system's performance is discussed. A theoretical analysis is given of the sensitivity of the system to misalignment errors of a Fourier plane random phase mask.     

超微细光刻中偏振光成像研究

在大数值孔径、短波长的投影光学光刻系统中，对S偏振光、P偏振光和非偏振光在硅片上的成像进行了研究，发现S偏振光成像具有最高的光强对数斜率值和最大的对比度；模拟了S偏振光通过掩模的电场分布机理，结果表明，可以通过调制照明光的偏振性来提高成像对比度和分辨力。     

Coded source neutron imaging with a MURA mask

In coded source neutron imaging the single aperture commonly used in neutron radiography is replaced with a coded mask. Using a coded source can improve the neutron flux at the sample plane when a very high L/D ratio is needed. The coded source imaging is a possible way to reduce the exposure time to get a neutron image with very high L/D ratio. A 17×17 modified uniformly redundant array coded source was tested in this work. There are 144 holes of 0.8 mm diameter on the coded source. The neutron flux from the coded source is as high as from a single 9.6 mm aperture, while its effective L/D is the same as in the case of a 0.8 mm aperture. The Richardson-Lucy maximum likelihood algorithm was used for image reconstruction. Compared to an in-line phase contrast neutron image taken with a 1 mm aperture, it takes much less time for the coded source to get an image of similar quality.     

Behavior of imperfect band-limited coronagraphic masks in a high-contrast imaging system

We investigate the behavior of imperfect band-limited occulting masks in a high-contrast imaging system through modeling and simulations. Grayscale masks having 1D Sinc(2) (linear-Sinc(2)) amplitude transmission coefficient (Sinc(4) intensity transmittance) profiles as well as optical density and wavelength-dependent parasitic phases are considered occulters. We compare the behaviors of several, slightly different occulter transmittance profiles by evaluating the contrast performance of the high-contrast imaging testbed (HCIT) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). These occulters include a measured occulter, a standard Sinc(2) occulter, and several of its variations. We show that when an occulting mask has a parasitic phase, a modified Sinc(2) transmittance profile works much better than the standard Sinc(2) mask. We examine the impact of some fabrication errors of the occulter on the HCIT's contrast performance. We find through modeling and simulations that starlight suppression by a factor of more than 10(10) is achievable at least monochromatically on the HCIT with the occulting mask and the optics currently being used on the testbed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that we investigate the behavior of a real (or fabricated) focal plane occulting mask in a high-contrast imaging system. We also briefly describe the approach used at JPL in fabricating a grayscale occulting mask and characterizing its transmittance and phase profiles.     

相移掩模方法及其一维数值模拟

相移掩模方法是一种新的光刻技术，它可以提高现有光刻设备的分辨率，使超大规模集成电路及二元光学的制作迈上一个新台阶。本文介绍了相移掩模方法的基本原理，用部分相干光成象理论分析了用于光刻的投影照相系统的成象特性，导出了一维成象的简化公式，对一维光栅结构进行了计算机数值模拟并给出了模拟结果。     

Color image security system using double random-structured phase encoding in gyrator transform domain

A novel method for encoding color information based on a double random phase mask and a double structured phase mask in a gyrator transform domain is proposed. The amplitude transmittance of the Fresnel zone plate is used as structured phase-mask encoding. A color image is first segregated into red, green, and blue component images. Each of these component images are then independently encrypted using first a random phase mask placed at the image plane and transmitted through the first structured phase mask. They are then encoded by the first gyrator transform. The resulting information is again encrypted by a second random phase mask placed at the gyrator transform plane and transmitted through the second structured phase mask, and then encoded by the second gyrator transform. The system parameters of the structured phase mask and gyrator transform in each channel serve as additional encryption keys and enlarge the key space. The encryption process can be realized with an electro-optical hybrid system. The proposed system avoids problems arising from misalignment and benefits of a higher space-bandwidth product. Numerical simulations are presented to confirm the security, validity, and possibility of the proposed idea.     

改进的多子阵双站合成孔径声纳成像算法

在常规单站SAS系统中,多子阵技术是提高测绘率的一个有效方法,针对发射站固定的双站SAS模型,多子阵技术同样可以用来解决测绘率与降空间采样率的矛盾,但是当"停-走-停"假设不再成立时,将引入相位误差项,降低双站SAS的成像质量,针对该问题在原有多子阵逐点成像算法的基础上,研究了发射站固定的双站SAS基阵运动引起的相位误差,提出了多子阵双站合成孔径声纳带相位补偿的逐点成像算法,在建立多子阵双站SAS数学模型的同时,形成了新的多子阵双站SAS系统方案设计。并给出了改进的波束形成逐点算法和仿真实验。改进的逐点算法并未改进运算量大小,新方法能够改善成像效果,仿真实验验证了该方法的有效性。多子阵双站合成孔径声纳成像的逐线算法有待进一步研究。     

光瞳滤波提高投影光刻成像分辨力研究

针对投影光刻成像系统在数值孔径足够大时所产生的分辨力和焦深的矛盾,详细研究了光瞳滤波对投影成像对比度的改善情况,根据不同掩模图形设计对应的最优滤波器。研究结果表明,光瞳滤波能大幅度提高投影光刻成像分辨力并增大焦深,是一种比较有效的提高光刻成像分辨力的方法。     

Liquid-crystal projection image depixelization by spatial phase scrambling

A technique that removes the pixel structure by scrambling the relative phases among multiple spatial spectra is described. Because of the pixel structure of the liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panel, multiple spectra are generated at the Fourier-spectrum plane (usually at the back focal plane of the imaging lens). A transparent phase mask is placed at the Fourier-spectrum plane such that each spectral order is modulated by one of the subareas of the phase mask, and the phase delay resulting from each pair of subareas is longer than the coherent length of the light source, which is approximately 1 μm for the wideband white light sources used in most of LCD's. Such a phase-scrambling technique eliminates the coherence between different spectral orders; therefore, the reconstructed images from the multiple spectra will superimpose incoherently, and the pixel structure will not be observed in the projection image.     

Superresolution with nonorthogonal polarization coding

One can achieve high-resolution (superresolution) imaging, beyond the classical limit, by exploiting certain degrees of freedom such as time and polarization for the object under consideration. We present an implementation, based on polarization coding, that requires insertion of a single mask into the object plane followed by postprocessing of the detected signal. We describe the procedure and provide experimental evidence for the implementation of the proposed technique.     

激光三角法距离传感：散斑的影响

描述了一个激光三角法距离传感，并用于鞋楦三维测量。讨论了系统的静态和动态测量误差，指出其深度分辨率主要由散斑决定，实验表明 ，增加透镜孔径或在成象透镜前加一随机振动位相掩膜均可极大改善深度分辨率。     

Secure optical memory system with polarization encryption

A novel secure holographic memory system with polarization encoding is proposed. Two-dimensional original data are encoded as a two-dimensional polarization distribution. The polarization state at each pixel is scrambled by a mask that changes the polarization state into a random state. The mask can rotate the direction of the principal axes of the elliptically polarized light and can change the phase retardation at each pixel. The light with the random polarization state is stored as a hologram that can produce the vector phase-conjugate beam. In the decryption the vector phase-conjugation readout can recover the original polarization state by use of the same mask used in the encryption. Experimental results of encryption and decryption with a bacteriorhodopsin film are presented.     

Diffraction by a subwavelength-sized aperture in a metal plane.

We present an experimental study on the diffraction of light by an aperture small compared with the wavelength. The aperture is illuminated by laser light guided in a metal-clad tapered optical fiber. We investigate different orientations of the aperture in the plane: normal to the cleaved plane, oblique to the cleaved plane, and off-center. We measure the far-field, two-dimensional intensity distributions of the diffracted light as functions of angle coordinates theta and phi in a full half-space for various polarization states and analyze the patterns by using low-order multipole fields. We also examine the near- and far-field effects of placing small periodic corrugations near the aperture, focusing on the role of surface-wave excitations. We measure the near-field intensity distributions near the aperture with a near-field scanning optical microscope and discuss their relation to the far-field diffracted fields.