Regularized Newton Methods for X-ray Phase Contrast and General Imaging Problems

Like many other advanced imaging methods, x-ray phase contrast imaging and tomography require mathematical inversion of the observed data to obtain real-space information. While an accurate forward model describing the generally nonlinear image formation from a given object to the observations is often available, explicit inversion formulas are typically not known. Moreover, the measured data might be insufficient for stable image reconstruction, in which case it has to be complemented by suitable a priori information. In this work, regularized Newton methods are presented as a general framework for the solution of such ill-posed nonlinear imaging problems. For a proof of principle, the approach is applied to x-ray phase contrast imaging in the near-field propagation regime. Simultaneous recovery of the phase- and amplitude from a single near-field diffraction pattern without homogeneity constraints is demonstrated for the first time. The presented methods further permit all-at-once phase contrast tomography, i.e. simultaneous phase retrieval and tomographic inversion. We demonstrate the potential of this approach by three-dimensional imaging of a colloidal crystal at 95 nm isotropic resolution.Comment: (C)2016 Optical Society of America. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modifications of the content of this paper are prohibite

On Relaxed Averaged Alternating Reflections (RAAR) Algorithm for Phase Retrieval from Structured Illuminations

In this paper, as opposed to the random phase masks, the structured illuminations with a pixel-dependent deterministic phase shift are considered to derandomize the model setup. The RAAR algorithm is modified to adapt to two or more diffraction patterns, and the modified RAAR algorithm operates in Fourier domain rather than space domain. The local convergence of the RAAR algorithm is proved by some eigenvalue analysis. Numerical simulations is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and stability of the algorithm compared to the HIO (Hybrid Input-Output) method. The numerical performances show the global convergence of the RAAR in our tests.Comment: 17 pages, 26 figures, submitting to Inverse Problem

Phase Retrieval with Application to Optical Imaging

This review article provides a contemporary overview of phase retrieval in optical imaging, linking the relevant optical physics to the information processing methods and algorithms. Its purpose is to describe the current state of the art in this area, identify challenges, and suggest vision and areas where signal processing methods can have a large impact on optical imaging and on the world of imaging at large, with applications in a variety of fields ranging from biology and chemistry to physics and engineering