Lensless imaging is an approach to microscopy in which a high-resolution image of an object is reconstructed from one or more measured diffraction patterns, providing a solution in situations where the use of imaging optics is not possible. However, current lensless imaging methods are typically limited by the need for a light source with a narrow, stable and accurately known spectrum. We have developed a general approach to lensless imaging without spectral bandwidth limitations or sample requirements. We use two time-delayed coherent light pulses and show that scanning the pulse-to-pulse time delay allows the reconstruction of diffraction-limited images for all the spectral components in the pulse. In addition, we introduce an iterative phase retrieval algorithm that uses these spectrally resolved Fresnel diffraction patterns to obtain high-resolution images of complex extended objects. We demonstrate this two-pulse imaging method with octave-spanning visible light sources, in both transmission and reflection geometries, and with broadband extreme-ultraviolet radiation from a high-harmonic generation source. Our approach enables effective use of low-flux ultra-broadband sources, such as table-top high-harmonic generation systems, for high-resolution imaging.

We report the observation of the hitherto undetected v = 8 ← v = 0 vibrational overtone in trapped HD + molecular ions, sympathetically cooled by laser-cooled Be + ions. The overtone is excited using 782 nm laser radiation, after which HD + ions in v = 8 are photodissociated by the 313 nm laser used for Be + cooling. The concomitant loss of HD + is detected by the method of secular excitation (Roth et al. in Phys. Rev. A. 74:040501(R), 2006). We furthermore present details of the experimental setup, and we show that results from spectroscopy of v = 8 ← v = 0 overtones in combination with accurate ab initio calculations may yield a new value for the proton-electron mass ratio with an accuracy of order 1 ppb.

We demonstrate a compact lensless microscope which can capture video-rate phase contrast images of moving objects and allows numerical scanning of the focal distance after recording. Using only an RGB-detector and illumination from a single mode fiber, diffraction patterns at three wavelengths are recorded simultaneously, enabling high-speed data collection and reconstruction of phase and amplitude. The technique is used for imaging of a moving test target, beads in a flow cell, and imaging of Caenorhabditis elegans moving in a droplet of liquid.

We demonstrate a compact, wide-field, quantitative phase contrast microscope that does not require lenses for image formation. High-resolution images are retrieved from Fresnel diffraction patterns recorded at multiple wavelengths, combined with a robust iterative phase retrieval algorithm. Quantitative phase contrast images of living cultured neurons are obtained with a transverse resolution of <2 μm. Our system is well suited for high-resolution live cell imaging and provides a compact, cost-effective alternative to full-sized phase-contrast microscopes.

We report on a high-power quasi-CW pumped Nd:YAG laser system, producing 130 mJ, 64 ps pulses at 1064 nm wavelength with a repetition rate of 300 Hz. Pulses from a Nd:YVO(4) oscillator are first amplified by a regenerative amplifier to the millijoule level and then further amplified in quasi-CW diode-pumped Nd:YAG modules. Pulsed diode pumping enables a high gain at repetition rates of several hundred hertz, while keeping thermal effects manageable. Birefringence compensation and multiple thermal-lensing-compensated relay-imaging stages are used to maintain a top-hat beam profile. After frequency doubling, 75 mJ pulses are obtained at 532 nm. The intensity stability is better than 1.1%, which makes this laser an attractive pump source for a high-repetition-rate optical parametric amplification system.