Resolution-enhanced imaging using interferenceless coded aperture correlation holography with sparse point response

Interferenceless coded aperture correlation holography (I-COACH) is a non-scanning, motionless, incoherent digital holography technique. In this study we use a special type of I-COACH in which its point spread hologram (PSH) is ensemble of sparse dots. With this PSH an imaging resolution beyond the classic diffraction limit is demonstrated. This resolution improvement is achieved due to the position of the coded aperture between the object and the lens-based imaging system. The coded aperture scatters part of the light, that otherwise is blocked by the system aperture, into the optical system, and by doing that, extends the effective numerical aperture of the system. The use of sparse PSH increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the entire imaging system. A lateral resolution enhancement by a factor of about 1.6 was noted in the case of I-COACH compared to direct imaging.