Related papers: The Durham Micro-Optics Programme
A new generation of telescopes with mirror diameters of 20 m or more, called extremely large telescopes (ELTs) has the potential to provide unprecedented imaging and spectroscopy of exo-planetary systems, if the difficulties in achieving…
Deep unfolding networks (DUNs) combine the interpretability of model-based methods with the learning ability of deep networks, yet remain limited for blind image restoration (BIR). Existing DUNs suffer from: (1) \textbf{Degradation-specific…
The solar physics community is entering a golden era that is ripe with next-generation ground- and space-based facilities. With ever-increasing resolving power stemming from the newest observational telescopes, it becomes more challenging…
Lattice imaging facilitates digital implementation of optical darkfield strategies that have for decades played a key role in the conventional electron microscopy of materials. Applications to the microscopy of periodic structures are…
In conventional optical microscopes, image contrast of objects mainly results from the differences in light intensity and/or color. Muller matrix optical microscopes (MMMs), on the other hand, can provide significantly enhanced image…
The SPIFFI integral field spectrometer is operated as a subunit of the AO instrument SINFONI on the VLT. It will be upgraded and reused as SPIFFIER in the new VLT instrument ERIS. In January 2016 an early upgrade of several optical…
Optical fibres have already played a huge part in ground based astronomical instrumentation, however, with the revolution in photonics currently taking place new fibre technologies and integrated optical devices are likely to have a…
We present the software system developed to implement the Locus Algorithm, a novel algorithm designed to maximise the performance of differential photometry systems by optimising the number and quality of reference stars in the Field of…
An approach reported recently by Alexandrov et al. on optical scatter imaging, termed digital Fourier microscopy (DFM), represents an adaptation of digital Fourier holography to selective imaging of biological matter. Holographic mode of…
Field ion microscopy (FIM) allows to image individual surface atoms by exploiting the effect of an intense electric field. Widespread use of atomic resolution imaging by FIM has been hampered by a lack of efficient image processing/data…
We briefly present the history of technical solutions aimed at improving the efficiency of spectroscopy on small- and moderate-diameter telescopes. We assess the current state of spectroscopy techniques and some of the perspectives.
Mode Division Multiplexing (MDM) is a technique used over the past decade in Silicon Photonics (SiPh) to incorporate more data into communication links by employing higher-order transverse electric or transverse magnetic modes. MDM was…
Multilevel diffractive lenses (MDLs) have emerged as an alternative to both conventional diffractive optical elements (DOEs) and metalenses for applications ranging from imaging to holographic and immersive displays. Recent work has shown…
Electro-optics serves as the crucial bridge between electronics and photonics, unlocking a wide array of applications ranging from communications and computing to sensing and quantum information. Integrated electro-optics approaches in…
Modeling artificial scanning electron microscope (SEM) and scanning ion microscope images has recently become important. This is because of the need to provide repeatable images with a priori determined parameters. Modeled artificial images…
Devasthal Optical Telescope Integral Field Spectrograph (DOTIFS) is a new multi-Integral Field Unit (IFU) instrument, planned to be mounted on the 3.6m Devasthal optical telescope in Nainital, India. It has eight identical, fiber-fed…
The multi-object spectrograph (MOS) has been the benchmark for the current generation of astronomical spectrographs, valued for its ability to acquire the spectra of hundreds of objects simultaneously. In the last two decades, the digital…
Focusing properties of a novel type photoresist microlens are studied. A specific character of the microlens is its mushroom shape. Recently it was predicted and experimentally revealed that such a lens integrated with a light-emitting…
Interferometry provides highly sensitive access to optical phase and is central to much of modern metrology and phase imaging methods. Conventional implementations, however, often face trade-offs between mechanical stability and…
MIRI, the Mid-InfraRed Instrument, is one of four instruments being built for the James Webb Space Telescope. It is being developed jointly between an European Consortium (21 institutes from 10 countries, under the auspices of ESA), and the…