Resolution Limit of Correlation Plenoptic Imaging between Arbitrary Planes

Abstract

Correlation plenoptic imaging (CPI) is an optical imaging technique based on intensity correlation measurement, which enables detecting, within fundamental physical limits, both the spatial distribution and the direction of light in a scene. This provides the possibility to perform tasks such as three-dimensional reconstruction and refocusing of different planes. Compared with standard plenoptic imaging devices, based on direct intensity measurement, CPI overcomes the problem of the strong trade-off between spatial and directional resolution. Here, we study the resolution limit in a recent development of the technique, called correlation plenoptic imaging between arbitrary planes (CPI-AP). The analysis, based on Gaussian test objects, highlights the main properties of the technique, as compared with standard imaging, and provides an analytical guideline to identify the limits at which an object can be considered resolved.