Abstract

Three-dimensional white light image information can be captured electronically by measuring the intensity distribution in a volume extending along the optical axis behind the imaging lens. The 3-D image is obtained from the measured volume intensity by an inversion algorithm using the measured volume point spread function (VPSF). Although the VPSF is a space-variant function, the inversion process is implemented using well-known matrix techniques for object restoration. The computation is straightforward but time-consuming. The concept of 3-D volume imaging has been demonstrated in computer simulations. Results of laboratory tests are presented. The experimental VPSF and the image volume intensity are measured with a TV camera which is translated along the optical axis. Preliminary results suggest that the number of measurable gray levels in the volume image must increase as object complexity increases.

© 1989 Optical Society of America