Method and fibre-optical system for illuminating and detecting an object by means of light

A method for illuminating and detecting an object by light, comprising at least the following method steps:

• a) calibrating a coherent bundle of optical fibres, comprising
• i) proximal illumination of at least one freely selectable individual fibre of the coherent bundle of optical fibres with light;
• ii) reflecting the light at least in part at means for partial reflection of the light that are spaced apart from distal facets of the optical fibres of the bundle, such that a region of the bundle of optical fibres that comprises more than one individual fibre is illuminated distally by the reflected light, wherein the reflected light corresponds to the light emanating from a virtual image of the illuminated individual fibres;
• iii) detecting the spatial intensity distribution of the reflected light subjected to disturbance by being transmitted by the distally illuminated region of the bundle of optical fibres, or a spatial intensity distribution of an interference pattern generated by coherent superposing a reference wave on the reflected light subjected to disturbance by being transmitted by the distally illuminated region of the bundle of optical fibres;
• iv) evaluating detected data at least in order to directly extract a single phase difference ΔΦ of the reflected light subjected to disturbance by being transmitted by the distally illuminated region of the bundle of optical fibres;
• v) determining a system function that mirrors transmission properties of the distally illuminated region of the bundle of optical fibres;
• vi) repeating sub-method steps i) to v) to determine a system function that mirrors transmission properties of the entire bundle of optical fibres;
• b) disturbance-corrected proximal illumination of the entire bundle of optical fibres by light, and detection of the object arranged in the optical path after the means for partial reflection, or
• disturbance-corrected detection of the object arranged in the optical path after the means for partial reflection following uncorrected proximal illumination of the entire bundle of optical fibres by means of light,
• wherein the disturbance correction of the illumination is carried out in that the inverse of the system function is impressed on the light emitted by an illumination system, by means of interaction with a wavefront modulator comprising individually actuatable elements, such that, following transfer through the bundle of optical fibres, a wave field that largely corresponds to that emitted by the illumination system is available for proximal illumination of an object arranged in the optical path after the means for partial reflection;
• wherein the disturbance correction of the detection is carried out in that the spatial intensity distribution of the light subjected to disturbance by being transmitted by the bundle of optical fibres, following interaction with the object, or the spatial intensity distribution of an interference pattern generated by coherently superposing a reference wave on the light subjected to disturbance by being transmitted by the bundle of optical fibres, following interaction with the object, is numerically corrected by means of applying the inverse system function.