Circular Phase Representation and Geometry-Aware Optimization for Ptychographic Image Reconstruction

arXiv cs.CV / 4/30/2026

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Key Points

  • The paper targets the high computational cost of traditional iterative ptychographic image reconstruction and motivates faster deep learning alternatives for high-throughput or real-time use.
  • It addresses phase representation problems in existing deep learning methods by modeling optical phase on the unit circle using sine and cosine components to respect the $2\pi$ periodicity.
  • The framework introduces a differentiable geodesic loss for phase optimization, which avoids branch-cut discontinuities and yields bounded gradients.
  • It adds practical training and architectural enhancements, including saturation-aware dual-gain input scaling, parallel encoder branches, and three decoders for amplitude, cosine, and sine, combined with a composite loss for circular consistency and structural fidelity.
  • Experiments on synthetic and experimental datasets demonstrate improved amplitude and phase accuracy over prior deep learning approaches and better preservation of mid- to high-frequency phase details, alongside significant speedups versus iterative solvers.

Abstract

Traditional iterative reconstruction methods are accurate but computationally expensive, limiting their use in high-throughput and real-time ptychography. Recent deep learning approaches improve speed, but often predict phase as a Euclidean scalar despite its 2\pi periodicity, which can introduce wrapping artifacts, discontinuities at \pm\pi, and a mismatch between the loss and the underlying signal geometry. We present a deep learning framework for ptychographic reconstruction that models phase on the unit circle using cosine and sine components. Phase error is optimized with a differentiable geodesic loss, which avoids branch-cut discontinuities and provides bounded gradients. The network further incorporates saturation-aware dual-gain input scaling, parallel encoder branches, and three decoders for amplitude, cosine, and sine prediction, together with a composite loss that promotes circular consistency and structural fidelity. Experiments on synthetic and experimental datasets show consistent improvements in both amplitude and phase reconstruction over existing deep learning methods. Frequency-domain analysis further shows better preservation of mid- and high-frequency phase content. The proposed method also provides substantial speedup over iterative solvers while maintaining physically consistent reconstructions.