Encoders for Optical Imaging

Codification, which modulates photo tags in specific dimensions, is an important operation that affects the performance of coded optical imaging systems, such as imaging speed, spatial resolutions, and application scope. An encoder, embodying the deployed codification strategy, is the core component in coded optical imaging systems. Benefiting from the advances of electronic devices and precise control technologies in recent decades, diverse types of optical signal encoders have enabled the development of many notable coded optical imaging modalities. This chapter reviews existing optical signal encoders. In the first part, based on the number of modulated photon tags, they are classified into one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and high-dimensional encoders. Their principles and some representative techniques are described. The second part of this chapter presents the implementation of fixed and reconfigurable optical signal encoders. In each category, representative techniques and processes are introduced. Finally, a summary concludes this chapter.