Angle-sensitive pixel design for wavefront sensing

Conventional image sensors are only responsive to the intensity variation of the incoming light wave. By encoding the wavefront information into the balanced detection scheme, we demonstrate an image sensor pixel design that is capable to detect both the local intensity and wavefront information simultaneously. With the full compatibility to the CMOS fabrication process, the proposed pixel design can benefit a variety of applications, including phase microscopy, lensless imaging and machine vision.