Revolutionizing Imaging Technology: UConn Scientists Create Lens-Free Sensor with Submicron 3D Resolution
Illustration of MASI’s working principle. Image credit: Wang et al., doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-65661-8.
“This technological breakthrough addresses a longstanding issue in imaging,” states Professor Guoan Zheng, the lead author from the University of Connecticut.
“Synthetic aperture imaging leverages the combination of multiple isolated sensors to mimic a larger imaging aperture.”
This technique works effectively in radio astronomy due to the longer wavelengths of radio waves, which facilitate precise sensor synchronization.
However, at visible wavelengths, achieving this synchronization is physically challenging due to the significantly smaller scales involved.
The Multiscale Aperture Synthesis Imager (MASI) turns this challenge on its head.
Instead of requiring multiple sensors to operate in perfect synchronization, MASI utilizes each sensor to independently measure light, employing computational algorithms to synchronize these measurements.
“It’s akin to multiple photographers capturing the same scene as raw light measurements, which software then stitches together into a single ultra-high-resolution image,” explains Professor Zheng.
This innovative computational phase-locking method removes the dependency on strict interferometric setups that previously limited the use of optical synthetic aperture systems.
MASI diverges from conventional optical imaging through two key innovations.
Firstly, instead of using a lens to focus light onto a sensor, MASI employs an array of coded sensors positioned on a diffractive surface, capturing raw diffraction patterns—the way light waves disperse after encountering an object.
These measurements contain valuable amplitude and phase information, which are decoded using advanced computational algorithms.
After reconstructing the complex wavefront from each sensor, the system digitally adjusts the wavefront and numerically propagates it back to the object’s surface.
A novel computational phase synchronization technique iteratively fine-tunes the relative phase offsets to enhance overall coherence and energy during the joint reconstruction process.
This key innovation enables MASI to surpass diffraction limits and constraints posed by traditional optical systems by optimizing the combined wavefront in the software, negating the need for physical sensor alignment.
As a result, MASI achieves a larger virtual synthetic aperture than any individual sensor, delivering submicron resolution and a wide field of view, all without the use of lenses.
Unlike traditional lenses for microscopes, cameras, and telescopes, which require designers to make trade-offs, MASI enables higher resolution without the limitations of lens proximity.
MASI captures diffraction patterns from several centimeters away, reconstructing images with unparalleled submicron resolution. This innovation is akin to inspecting the intricate ridges of a human hair from a distance, rather than needing to hold it inches away.
“The potential applications of MASI are vast, ranging from forensics and medical diagnostics to industrial testing and remote sensing,” highlights Professor Zheng.
“Moreover, the scalability is extraordinary. Unlike traditional optical systems, which become increasingly complex, our framework scales linearly, opening doors to large arrays for applications we have yet to conceptualize.”
For more details, refer to the team’s published paper in Nature Communications.
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R. One et al. 2025. Multiscale aperture synthetic imager. Nat Commun 16, 10582; doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-65661-8
Source: www.sci.news
