Optimizing the temporal and spatial resolutions and light throughput of Fresnel incoherent correlation holography in the framework of coded aperture imaging

Abstract Fresnel incoherent correlation holography (FINCH) is a well-established digital holography technique for 3D imaging of objects illuminated by spatially incoherent light. FINCH has a higher lateral resolution of 1.5 times that of direct imaging systems with the same numerical aperture. However, the other imaging characteristics of FINCH, such as axial resolution, temporal resolution, light throughput, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), are lower than those of direct imaging systems. Different techniques were developed by researchers around the world to improve the imaging characteristics of FINCH while retaining the inherent higher lateral resolution of FINCH. However, most of the solutions developed to improve FINCH presented additional challenges. In this study, we optimized FINCH in the framework of coded aperture imaging. Two recently developed computational methods, such as transport of amplitude into phase based on the Gerchberg Saxton algorithm and Lucy–Richardson–Rosen algorithm, were applied to improve light throughput and image reconstruction, respectively. The above implementation improved the axial resolution, temporal resolution, and SNR of FINCH and moved them closer to those of direct imaging while retaining the high lateral resolution. A point spread function (PSF) engineering technique has been implemented to prevent the low lateral resolution problem associated with the PSF recorded using pinholes with a large diameter. We believe that the above developments are beyond the state-of-the-art of existing FINCH-scopes.