High-fidelity pixel-super-resolved lensless on-chip microscopy via height scanning and synthetic aperture

Abstract

Lensless on-chip microscopy (LOCM) has emerged as a promising imaging technique that combines a wide FOV with high-resolution capabilities. However, the imaging fidelity remains limited by persistent twin-image artifacts and the system complexity associated with illumination angle calibration. We present a high-fidelity, pixel-super-resolved (PSR) LOCM system that jointly integrates height scanning and synthetic aperture modulation, coupled with a phase retrieval algorithm designed for illumination separation. The system minimizes experimental complexity by eliminating the requirement for prior knowledge of the illumination angle and reducing axial translations. The proposed method achieves imaging resolution beyond the Nyquist–Shannon sampling limit, providing a 1.26-fold improvement in resolution across a full FOV of 28.6 mm 2 . This method effectively suppresses twin-image artifacts, mitigates phase wrapping, and resolves fine structural details with superior fidelity.