US 12,189,137 B2
System and method for super-resolution imaging
Edwin P. Walker, Kihei, HI (US); Steven F. Griffin, Kihei, HI (US); and Sudhakar Prasad, Minneapolis, MN (US)
Assigned to The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by THE BOEING COMPANY, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed on Feb. 23, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/678,716.
Prior Publication US 2023/0266602 A1, Aug. 24, 2023
Int. Cl. G02B 27/58 (2006.01); G02B 27/10 (2006.01); G02B 27/30 (2006.01); G06T 7/30 (2017.01); H04N 23/55 (2023.01); H04N 23/56 (2023.01); H04N 23/69 (2023.01); G02B 27/42 (2006.01)
CPC G02B 27/58 (2013.01) [G02B 27/1066 (2013.01); G02B 27/30 (2013.01); G06T 7/30 (2017.01); H04N 23/55 (2023.01); H04N 23/56 (2023.01); H04N 23/69 (2023.01); G02B 27/4205 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for super-resolution imaging beyond a Rayleigh spatial resolution limit of an optical system, the system comprising:
first and second pinhole assemblies configured to be controllably positioned, said first and second pinhole assemblies defining respective pinholes and being configured to be backlit;
a collimating lens configured to collimate at least a portion of the signals passing through the respective pinholes of the first and second pinhole assemblies;
an amplitude/phase mask configured to provide amplitude and phase modulation to signals received from the collimating lens;
an imaging lens configured to focus the signals received from the amplitude/phase mask upon an image plane; and
processing circuitry configured to process the signals detected at the image plane to separately identify objects based upon a photon count at a central ordinate, thereby enabling the super-resolution imaging.