Imaging via diffuser modulation by translating a sample

An imaging system comprising:

• a sample mount for holding a sample to be imaged;
• a plurality of light emitting elements configured to illuminate the sample;
• a light dispersing element configured to disperse light emitted by each of the plurality of light emitting elements into a plurality of sub light beams to be incident on the sample at a plurality of angles of incidence, each respective sub light beam corresponding to a respective wavelength and is incident on the sample at a respective angle of incidence;
• a translation mechanism coupled to the sample mount and configured to scan the sample to a plurality of sample positions in a plane substantially perpendicular to an optical axis of the imaging system;
• a mask positioned downstream from the sample along the optical axis;
• an image sensor positioned downstream from the mask along the optical axis, the image sensor configured to acquire a plurality of images as the sample is translated to the plurality of sample positions, each respective image corresponding to a respective sample position;
• and
• a processor configured to process the plurality of images to recover a plurality of complex profiles of the sample based on positional shifts extracted from the plurality of images, each respective complex profile of the sample corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of light elements from which a three-dimensional tomographic image of the sample is reconstructed.