The objective of research is to develop a novel imaging paradigm that eliminates the need for bulky optical components such as lenses or mirrors and provides dramatic improvement of resolution. The approach relies on carefully designed diffractive elements that enable coupling between the waves carrying the information about different lengthscales of the object, and on advanced computational algorithms that recover the image based on the set of measured diffraction patterns. Intellectual merit: Proposed research focuses on the development of fundamentally new approach to imaging that utilizes diffractive, rather than reflective or refractive optics. The research has full potential to combine the benefits of deep subwavelenght resolution, offered by scanning near-field optical microscopy with benefits of large-area imaging offered by structured illumination microscopy. Diffraction-assisted imaging is uniquely positioned to utilize the four-fold reduction in wavelength in typical semiconductors to reduce the pixel size in mid-IR and long-wave IR detectors by an order of magnitude, opening the road to build highly-compact optics in these important frequency ranges. Broader Impacts Proposed research presents an opportunity to use recent progress in computation, materials science, and fabrication to revolutionize the full spectrum of imaging systems, from table-top microscopes to portable cameras, affecting life of ordinary people and researchers alike. The developed paradigm may become the ?workhorse? for optical characterization of novel nanostructures and for in-situ real-time imaging of small biological systems. Proposed mentoring, teaching, and outreach programs address the needs of high-school, undergraduate, and graduate students, and take advantage of the established productive theory-experiment collaborations
