Relaxing Direct Ptychography Sampling Requirements via Parallax Imaging Insights

Abstract: Direct ptychography enables the retrieval of information encoded in the phase of an electron wave passing through a thin sample by deconvolving the interference effect of a converged probe with known aberrations. Under the weak phase object approximation, this permits the optimal transfer of information using non-iterative techniques. However, the achievable resolution of the technique is traditionally limited by the probe step size -- setting stringent Nyquist sampling requirements. At the same time, parallax imaging has emerged as a dose-efficient phase-retrieval technique which relaxes sampling requirements and enables scan-upsampling. Here, we formulate parallax imaging as a quadratic approximation to direct ptychography and use this insight to enable upsampling in direct ptychography. We also demonstrate analytical results numerically using simulated and experimental reconstructions.