Real-time, 3-dimensional Scanning Imaging System Using Tunable Lens for Dynamic Process

This letter proposes a method for real-time observation of dynamic process with large continuous depth of field. There have been many ways for scanning the dynamic samples. However, those ways all have some apparent disadvantages, especially, when we want to observe the axial activity of the dynamic process. In order to avoid those shortcomings, a time division multiplexing scanning imaging system using fast electrical tunable lens is designed. By this way, a sequence of images with continuous depth will be obtained from the CCD camera by changing the focus length of tunable lens continuously, then the focus information will be extracted from each image by high-pass digital to reconstruct the 3-dimensional object field, and large depth of field can be easily achieved by setting the system parameter.