Advanced lensless light-field imaging systems for enabling a wide range of entirely new applications
Continuing a sequence of lensless light-field imaging camera patents beginning 1999, the present invention adds light-use efficiency, predictive-model design, distance-parameterized interpolation, computational efficiency, arbitrary shaped surface-of-focus, angular diversity/redundancy, distributed image sensing, plasmon surface propagation, and other fundamentally enabling features. Embodiments can be fabricated entirely by printing, transparent/semi-transparent, layered, of arbitrary size/curvature, flexible/bendable, emit light, focus and self-illuminate at zero-separation distance between (planar or curved) sensing and observed surfaces, robust against damage/occultation, implement color sensing without use of filters or diffraction, overlay on provided surfaces, provided color and enhanced multi-wavelength color sensing, wavelength-selective imaging of near-infrared/near-ultraviolet, and comprise many other fundamentally enabling features. Embodiments can be thinner, larger/smaller, more light-use efficient, and higher-performance than recently-popularized coded aperture imaging cameras. Vast ranges of diverse previously-impossible applications are enabled: credit-card cameras/phones, in-body monitoring of healing/disease, advanced biomarker analysis systems, perfect eye-contact video conferencing, seeing fabrics/skin/housings, and manufacturing-monitoring, wear-monitoring, and machine vision capabilities.
1. A lensless light-field imaging system, comprising:
an array of light sensing elements, each light-sensing element comprising a light-sensing area and each light-sensing element configured to generate an electrical photocurrent responsive to an amplitude of incoming light striking a light-sensing surface, each light-sensing surface arranged to experience angularly-varying sensitivity responsive to a direction of each path of the incoming light striking the light-sensing surface;
electronics configured to interface the array of light sensing elements and further configured to provide a plurality of electronically-represented digital numbers, each digital number responsive to light received by at least one light-sensing element in the array of light sensing elements, producing a result comprising a plurality of electronically-represented digital numbers;
an algorithm configured to execute on a computational processor, the algorithm for computing a two-dimensional image representation from the plurality of electronically-represented digital numbers, the two-dimensional image representation corresponding to portion of a focused image at a separation distance value measured perpendicular to the light-sensing surface of the one of the light sensing elements in the array of light sensing elements, there being a plurality of separation distance values,
wherein each of the electronically-represented digital numbers are responsive to the amplitude of incoming light striking the light-sensing surface of an associated light sensing element in the array of light sensing elements and a plurality of focused image portions, and
wherein the plurality of separation distance values are not a substantially same numeric value.
2. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the light sensing elements of the array of light sensing elements are oriented in space to form a curved surface.
3. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein spatial positions of the plurality of focused image portions form a planar surface.
4. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the light sensing elements of the array of light sensing elements are oriented in space to form a planar surface.
5. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein spatial positions of the plurality of focused image portions form a curved surface.
6. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the light sensing elements of the array of light sensing elements are oriented in space to form a first curved surface and spatial positions of the plurality of focused image portions form a second curved surface.
7. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the algorithm is controlled by at least one separation distance parameter.
8. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the light sensing elements comprise organic semiconductors.
9. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the light sensing elements comprise semiconductors that are co-optimized for both light emission and light sensing.
10. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the light sensing elements are arranged to emit light for an interval of time.
11. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the angularly-varying sensitivity of the light sensing elements results at least in part from a structure of the light sensing elements.
12. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the angularly-varying sensitivity of the light sensing elements results at least in part from a structure attached to the array of light sensing elements.
13. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 12 , wherein the structure attached to the array of light sensing elements comprises segregated optical paths.
14. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 13 , wherein the segregated optical paths are created by separating surfaces.
15. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 13 , wherein the separating surfaces are at least partially-reflective.
16. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the light sensing elements is color selective.
17. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 13 , wherein a color selective property results from a band gap property of a semiconductor device element comprised by the at least one of the light sensing elements.
18. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the algorithm comprises array multiplication of numerical values obtained from calculation of a generalized inverse matrix.
19. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the algorithm comprises array multiplication of numerical values obtained from an interpolation.
20. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the algorithm comprises array multiplication of numerical values obtained from a predictive analytical model.
21. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the algorithm comprises array multiplication of numerical values derived from a predictive analytical model.
22. The lensless light-field imaging system of claim 1 , wherein the algorithm comprises array multiplication of numerical values derived from empirical measurements.