Compressive hyperspectral microscopic imaging using spectral-coded illumination

A hyperspectral microscopic imaging system based on compressive sensing theory using spectral-coded illumination is presented in this paper. The spectral modulator, which consists of a liquid crystal variable retarder and two polarizers, is employed to encode the spectral transmittance of the incident light by adjusting the voltage of the liquid crystal variable retarder. The paper also provides the imaging model and reconstruction method, and the feasibility is confirmed through computer simulations and laboratory experiments. The imaging system combines traditional microscopy with spectrally encoded illumination and offers an alternative approach for designing a low-cost and compact hyperspectral microscope.