Light-field ghost imaging

Abstract

Techniques based on classical and quantum correlations in light beams, such as ghost imaging, allow us to overcome many limitations of conventional imaging and sensing protocols. Despite their advantages, applications of such techniques are often limited in practical scenarios where the position and the longitudinal extension of the target object are unknown. In this work, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an imaging technique, named light-field ghost imaging, that exploits light correlations and light-field imaging principles to enable going beyond the limitations of ghost imaging in a wide range of applications. Notably, our technique removes the requirement to have prior knowledge of the object distance, allowing the possibility of refocusing in postprocessing, as well as performing three-dimensional imaging while retaining all the benefits of ghost imaging protocols. Published by the American Physical Society 2024