Periodic patterns for resolution limit characterization of correlation plenoptic imaging

TL;DR

This paper investigates the resolution limits of correlation plenoptic imaging using periodic patterns, providing analytical insights into its capabilities for 3D imaging and refocusing without scanning.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical approach to understanding the resolution limits of correlation plenoptic imaging with periodic patterns, enhancing 3D imaging techniques.

Findings

Periodic patterns reveal fundamental resolution limits.

Correlation plenoptic imaging surpasses traditional resolution constraints.

Analytical results compare favorably with standard imaging methods.

Abstract

The measurement of the spatio-temporal correlations of light provides an interesting tool to overcome the traditional limitations of standard imaging, such as the strong trade-off between spatial resolution and depth of field. In particular, using correlation plenoptic imaging, one can detect both the spatial distribution and the direction of light in a scene, pushing both resolution and depth of field to the fundamental limit imposed by wave-optics. This allows one to perform refocusing of different axial planes and three-dimensional reconstruction without any spatial scanning. In the present work, we investigate the resolution limit in a particular correlation plenoptic imaging scheme, by considering periodic test patterns, which provide, through analytical results, a deeper insight in the resolution properties of this second-order imaging technique, also in comparison with standard imaging.