Bearne Katherine K M, Zhou Yiyu, Braverman Boris, Yang Jing, Wadood S A, Jordan Andrew N, Vamivakas A N, Shi Zhimin, Boyd Robert W
Opt Express. 2021 Apr 12;29(8):11784-11792. doi: 10.1364/OE.419493.
Spatial resolution is one of the most important specifications of an imaging system. Recent results in the quantum parameter estimation theory reveal that an arbitrarily small distance between two incoherent point sources can always be efficiently determined through the use of a spatial mode sorter. However, extending this procedure to a general object consisting of many incoherent point sources remains challenging, due to the intrinsic complexity of multi-parameter estimation problems. Here, we generalize the Richardson-Lucy (RL) deconvolution algorithm to address this challenge. We simulate its application to an incoherent confocal microscope, with a Zernike spatial mode sorter replacing the pinhole used in a conventional confocal microscope. We test different spatially incoherent objects of arbitrary geometry, and we find that the resolution enhancement of sorter-based microscopy is on average over 30% higher than that of a conventional confocal microscope using the standard RL deconvolution algorithm. Our method could potentially be used in diverse applications such as fluorescence microscopy and astronomical imaging.
空间分辨率是成像系统最重要的规格之一。量子参数估计理论的最新结果表明，通过使用空间模式分选器，总能有效地确定两个非相干点源之间任意小的距离。然而，由于多参数估计问题的内在复杂性，将此过程扩展到由许多非相干点源组成的一般物体仍然具有挑战性。在此，我们对理查森-卢西（RL）反卷积算法进行了推广，以应对这一挑战。我们模拟了它在非相干共聚焦显微镜中的应用，用泽尼克空间模式分选器取代了传统共聚焦显微镜中使用的针孔。我们测试了不同几何形状的任意空间非相干物体，发现基于分选器的显微镜的分辨率增强平均比使用标准RL反卷积算法的传统共聚焦显微镜高30%以上。我们的方法可能潜在地用于多种应用，如荧光显微镜和天文成像。
