Coded aperture detector: an image sensor with sub 20-nm pixel resolution

Opt Express. 2014 Aug 11;22(16):19803-9. doi: 10.1364/OE.22.019803.

Abstract

We describe the coded aperture detector, a novel image sensor based on uniformly redundant arrays (URAs) with customizable pixel size, resolution, and operating photon energy regime. In this sensor, a coded aperture is scanned laterally at the image plane of an optical system, and the transmitted intensity is measured by a photodiode. The image intensity is then digitally reconstructed using a simple convolution. We present results from a proof-of-principle optical prototype, demonstrating high-fidelity image sensing comparable to a CCD. A 20-nm half-pitch URA fabricated by the Center for X-ray Optics (CXRO) nano-fabrication laboratory is presented that is suitable for high-resolution image sensing at EUV and soft X-ray wavelengths.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.