Angle sensitive imaging : a new paradigm for light field imaging

Abstract

This work builds heavily on the theoretical premise laid down by the earlier work on multi-aperture imaging. Practical aspects are modeled on the diffraction based Talbot effect. The solution falls into a general category of sub-wavelength apertures and is a one-dimensional case of the same. We explore other alternative solutions such as differential quadrature pixels, polarization pixels, multi-finger pixels and combinations of these to effectively capture the angular information of light by consuming only a very small imager area. We establish the capabilities of our technique through rigorous testing of individual sensing elements and the image sensor as a whole. Our solution enables a rich set of applications among which are fast response auto-focus camera systems and single-shot passive 3D imaging.