Single-step superresolution by interferometric imaging

The use of vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays for implementation of incoherent source superresolution is presented. The method uses an interferometer setup to obtain superresolution in a single step. The novelty of the method relies on the use of a VCSEL array as the light source, which provides a set of coherent sources which are mutually incoherent. The technique accomplishes the transmission of several spatial frequency bands of the object's spectrum in parallel by use of spatial multiplexing that occurs because of the tilted illumination of the source array. The recording process is done by interference of each frequency band with a complementary set of reference plane waves. After the reconstruction process, the resolution of any optical system can approach the natural lambda/2 limit. The benefit of our system is improved modulation speed and hence more rapid image synthesis. Moreover, any desired synthetic coherent transfer function can be realized at ultrafast rates if we simply change the electrical drive of the VCSEL array. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.