# Unidirectional imaging with partially coherent light

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.05449 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.05449/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 9 of its 34 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 10 Aug 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [All-Optical Machine Learning Using Diffractive Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.08711/) (2018)
- [Analysis of Diffractive Optical Neural Networks and Their Integration with Electronic Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.01916/) (2018)
- [All-Optical Synthesis of an Arbitrary Linear Transformation Using Diffractive Surfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.09833/) (2021)
- [To image, or not to image: Class-specific diffractive cameras with all-optical erasure of undesired objects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.13122/) (2022)
- [Computational Imaging Without a Computer: Seeing Through Random Diffusers at the Speed of Light](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.06586/) (2021)
- [Universal Linear Intensity Transformations Using Spatially-Incoherent Diffractive Processors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.13037/) (2023)
- [Unidirectional Imaging using Deep Learning-Designed Materials](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.02025/) (2022)
- [Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) through random diffusers using a diffractive optical network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.07908/) (2023)
- [Pyramid diffractive optical networks for unidirectional image magnification and demagnification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.15019/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Lying mirror using structured surfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.15521/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Unidirectional imagers form images of input objects only in one direction, e.g., from field-of-view (FOV) A to FOV B, while blocking the image formation in the reverse direction, from FOV B to FOV A. Here, we report unidirectional imaging under spatially partially coherent light and demonstrate high-quality imaging only in the forward direction (A->B) with high power efficiency while distorting the image formation in the backward direction (B->A) along with low power efficiency. Our reciprocal design features a set of spatially engineered linear diffractive layers that are statistically optimized for partially coherent illumination with a given phase correlation length. Our analyses reveal that when illuminated by a partially coherent beam with a correlation length of ~1.5 w or larger, where w is the wavelength of light, diffractive unidirectional imagers achieve robust performance, exhibiting asymmetric imaging performance between the forward and backward directions - as desired. A partially coherent unidirectional imager designed with a smaller correlation length of less than 1.5 w still supports unidirectional image transmission, but with a reduced figure of merit. These partially coherent diffractive unidirectional imagers are compact (axially spanning less than 75 w), polarization-independent, and compatible with various types of illumination sources, making them well-suited for applications in asymmetric visual information processing and communication.