An advance in high-resolution optical metrology has been achieved by the introduction of incoherent holographic imaging. FINCH, an example of incoherent holography, is shown to simplify the process, eliminating many steps in metrology and at the same time increasing throughput, resolution and accuracy of the method. A proposed technique requires only a single image capture with a non-moving camera rather than the capture of multiple stacks of images requiring many camera exposures and movement of the camera or sample in the conventional techniques.

A 3D optical microscope device of a small form factor optical system is disclosed. A transmission optical system device comprises a first lens having a left side disposed in contact with an input plane, and a second lens having a right side disposed in contact with a rear focal plane and disposed at a position spaced apart by a focal length of the first lens. The first lens and the second lens Fourier-transform a light signal incident on the input plane and output the transformed signal to the rear focal plane.

A method for three-dimensional imaging of a sample (302) comprises: receiving (102) interference patterns (208) acquired using light-detecting elements (212), wherein each interference pattern (208) is formed by scattered light from the sample (302) and non-scattered light from a light source (206; 306), wherein the interference patterns (208) are acquired using different angles between the sample (302) and the light source (206; 306); performing digital holographic reconstruction applying an iterative algorithm to change a three-dimensional scattering potential of the sample (302) to improve a difference between the received interference patterns (208) and predicted interference patterns based on the three-dimensional scattering potential; wherein the iterative algorithm reduces a sum of a data fidelity term and a non-differentiable regularization term and wherein the iterative algorithm includes a forward-backward splitting method alternating between forward gradient descent (108) on the data fidelity term and backward gradient descent (110) on the regularization term.

The present invention discloses a method for detecting a microstructure of a functionally graded material based on digital acousto-optic holography, including the following steps: excite a sample with an ultrasonic wave; record a light wave; form a single tomographic acousto-optic hologram; perform numerical reconstruction of phase information, and perform global detection. The present invention uses an acoustic-optic modulation device to modulate a laser light source of a laser of a laser device to form two light waves of different frequencies. The two light waves each constitute a Mach-Zehnder interference system to record reflection wave information and transmission wave information of an ultrasound, and are finally combined and recorded in the same hologram to form the single tomographic acousto-optic hologram.

A method for producing a hologram (1), (1) for security elements (1a) and/or security documents (1b). One or more virtual hologram planes (10) are arranged in front of and/or behind one or more virtual models (20) and/or one or more virtual hologram planes (10) are arranged such that they intersect one or more virtual models (20). One or more virtual light sources (30) are arranged on one or more partial regions of the surface (21) of one or more of the virtual models (20). One or more virtual electromagnetic fields (40) are calculated starting from at least one of the virtual light sources (30) in one or more zones (11) of the one or more virtual hologram planes (10). In the one or more zones (11), in each case, a virtual total electromagnetic field (41) is calculated on the basis of the sum of two or more, of the virtual electromagnetic fields (40) in the respective zone (11). One or more phase images (50) are calculated from the virtual total electromagnetic fields (41) in the one or more zones (11). A height profile (60) of the hologram (1) is calculated from the one or more phase images (50) and the height profile (60) of the hologram (1) is incorporated into a substrate (2) to provide the hologram (1).

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an imaging device for holographic imaging of a sample, the imaging device comprising a light source generating a light beam, a beam splitter splitting the light beam into an object beam along an object beam path and a reference beam along a reference beam path, and a detector. The imaging device defines a sample position. The object beam is propagated through the sample position, and the detector is arranged to prevent non-scattered object light, passing through the sample position without being scattered by the sample, from being incident onto the detector. The reference beam is propagated through the sample position, and the detector is arranged so that non-scattered reference light, passing through the sample position without being scattered by the sample, is incident onto the detector. The detector detects an interference pattern formed by scattered object light and the non-scattered reference light.

A method of generating a color image of a sample includes obtaining a plurality of low resolution holographic images of the sample using a color image sensor, the sample illuminated simultaneously by light from three or more distinct colors, wherein the illuminated sample casts sample holograms on the image sensor and wherein the plurality of low resolution holographic images are obtained by relative x, y, and z directional shifts between sample holograms and the image sensor. Pixel super-resolved holograms of the sample are generated at each of the three or more distinct colors. De-multiplexed holograms are generated from the pixel super-resolved holograms. Phase information is retrieved from the de-multiplexed holograms using a phase retrieval algorithm to obtain complex holograms. The complex hologram for the three or more distinct colors is digitally combined and back-propagated to a sample plane to generate the color image.

An optical method of characterizing an object comprises providing an object to be characterized, the object having at least one nanoscale feature; illuminating the object with coherent plane wave optical radiation having a wavelength larger than the nanoscale feature; capturing a diffraction intensity pattern of the radiation which is scattered by the object; supplying the diffraction intensity pattern to a neural network trained with a training set of diffraction intensity patterns corresponding to other objects with a same nanoscale feature as the object to be characterized, the neural network configured to recover information about the object from the diffraction intensity pattern; and making a characterization of the object based on the recovered information.

An optical security device (1) comprising a recorded or encoded representation of an optically variable image (40), the image (40) being reconstructable and viewable for security, authentication or identification purposes, the device (1) comprising: an optical structure (30) in which there is recorded or encoded a representation of the optically variable image (40) in the form of a plurality of discrete portions (e.g. 50) of the complete image (40) to be reconstructed, wherein the respective said plurality of portions (e.g. 50) of the optically variable image (40) can, when reconstructed, only be viewed in their totality by viewing the said image (40) at or over a plurality of different viewing angles or angle ranges (70) relative to the optical structure (30) and/or at or over a plurality of different angles or range of angles of illumination of the optical structure (10), and wherein the size, in at least one dimension, direction, axis or plane, of the complete image (40), when reconstructed, is greater than the corresponding size, in the same, or the respective same, dimension, direction, axis or plane, of a part of the optical structure (30) having the said plurality of portions (e.g. 50) of the image (40) collectively recorded or encoded therein.

The present invention relates to a 3D holographic imaging apparatus and method for projecting multiple point light sources to one plane such that qubits can be detected at rapid rate by allowing a 3D qubit model arranged in three dimensions to be simultaneously photographed in two dimensions. For this, the present invention provides a 3D holographic imaging apparatus comprising: a fluorescent unit configured to cause each qubit composing a 3D qubit model to emit qubit fluorescent beams; a lens unit configured to change the qubit fluorescent beams to a desired route; a light modulator configured to modulate each phase of the qubit fluorescent beams for each predetermined position, and control a position of a focal point; and an imaging unit configured to image the qubit fluorescent beams modulated by the light modulator in a two-dimensional (2D) image. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to greatly reduce the preparation and detection time of the 3D qubit model and increase the number of detectable qubits.