View images with unprecedented resolution in integral microscopy

Abstract

Integral microscopy is a novel technique that allows the simultaneous capture of multiple perspective images of microscopic samples. This feature is achieved at the cost of a significant reduction of the spatial resolution. In fact, it is assumed that in the best cases the resolution is reduced by a factor that is not smaller than ten, what poses a hard drawback to the utility of the technique. However, to the best of our knowledge, this resolution limitation has never been researched rigorously. For this reason, the aim of this paper is to explore the real limitations in resolution of integral microscopy and to obtain optically, without the need of any image-processing algorithm, perspective images with the best resolution ever achieved in integral microscopy. This result opens a wide range of new possibilities of using integral microscopy in any imaging application were micron resolution is required.