Imaging system with photon reallocation

A photon reallocation imaging system comprising:

• a polychromatic light source (SL) configured to generate at least one spatially coherent illumination light beam (FE) over a range of illumination wavelengths;
• a first optical system (SO1) configured to disperse said illumination light beam with a first angular dispersion DA1 and to focus it on a sample (E) so as to form a first spectral line (LS1) oriented in a first direction (x);
• a second optical system (SO2) configured to collect a light beam elastically scattered (FS) by said sample, referred to as signal beam, to apply thereto a second angular dispersion DA2, and to focus it in a focal plane so as to form a second spectral line (LS2) oriented in a second direction (x);
• a matrix image sensor (CMI) arranged in said image focal plane;
• a means (PT, S1) for inducing a relative displacement between the first spectral line and the sample in a third direction (y), perpendicular to the first direction;
• and
• a means for forming an image of the sample through photon reallocation based on one or more images acquired by said matrix image sensor in correspondence with a plurality of different positions adopted by the first spectral line on the sample;
• wherein the first optical system comprises a first dispersive optical device (G1, G10) for dispersing said illumination light beam with a first angular dispersion DA1 and the second optical system comprises a second dispersive optical device (G2) for applying to said illumination light beam with said second angular dispersion DA2;
• the length of the second spectral line in the second direction being greater than that of the first spectral line in the first direction by a factor AG=MGDA2/DA1>1, MG being the ratio of the light beam size on the first dispersive optical device measured in the first direction to the signal beam size on the second dispersive optical device measured in the second direction.