biostudies-literatureVilar NGovernment of Catalonia | Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (Agency for Management of University and Research Grants)European Research Council2065https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC10920621biostudies-literatureUnknown15(1)A central quest in optics is to rapidly extract quantitative information from a sample. Existing topographical imaging tools allow non-contact and three-dimensional measurements at the micro and nanoscales and are essential in applications including precision engineering and optical quality control. However, these techniques involve acquiring a focal stack of images, a time-consuming process that prevents measurement of moving samples. Here, we propose a method for increasing the speed of topographic imaging by orders of magnitude. Our approach involves collecting a reduced set of images, each integrated during the full focal scan, whilst the illumination is synchronously modulated during exposure. By properly designing the modulation sequence for each image, unambiguous reconstruction of Nature communicationsFast topographic optical imaging using encoded search focal scan.PMC10920621101002460DI-2021Duocastella MCarles GArtigas RVilar NfalseFast topographic optical imaging using encoded search focal scan.A central quest in optics is to rapidly extract quantitative information from a sample. Existing topographical imaging tools allow non-contact and three-dimensional measurements at the micro and nanoscales and are essential in applications including precision engineering and optical quality control. However, these techniques involve acquiring a focal stack of images, a time-consuming process that prevents measurement of moving samples. Here, we propose a method for increasing the speed of topographic imaging by orders of magnitude. Our approach involves collecting a reduced set of images, each integrated during the full focal scan, whilst the illumination is synchronously modulated during exposure. By properly designing the modulation sequence for each image, unambiguous reconstruction of 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Mar2026-07-14T20:44:19.766Z2026-06-24T03:09:32.895ZS-EPMC109206213845392610.1038/s41467-024-46267-y