Aberration Estimation for Synthetic Aperture Digital Holographic Microscope Using Deep Neural Network

Sensors (Basel). 2023 Nov 20;23(22):9278. doi: 10.3390/s23229278.

Abstract

Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is a valuable technique for investigating the optical properties of samples through the measurement of intensity and phase of diffracted beams. However, DHMs are constrained by Lagrange invariance, compromising the spatial bandwidth product (SBP) which relates resolution and field of view. Synthetic aperture DHM (SA-DHM) was introduced to overcome this limitation, but it faces significant challenges such as aberrations in synthesizing the optical information corresponding to the steering angle of incident wave. This paper proposes a novel approach utilizing deep neural networks (DNNs) for compensating aberrations in SA-DHM, extending the compensation scope beyond the numerical aperture (NA) of the objective lens. The method involves training a DNN from diffraction patterns and Zernike coefficients through a circular aperture, enabling effective aberration compensation in the illumination beam. This method makes it possible to estimate aberration coefficients from the only part of the diffracted beam cutoff by the circular aperture mask. With the proposed technique, the simulation results present improved resolution and quality of sample images. The integration of deep neural networks with SA-DHM holds promise for advancing microscopy capabilities and overcoming existing limitations.

Keywords: aberration estimation; deep neural network; holographic microscope; synthetic aperture.