Increasing the Image Sharpness of Light Microscope Images Using Deep Learning

Abstract Image-based qualitative and quantitative structural analyses using high-resolution light microscopy are integral parts of the materialographic work on materials and components. Vibrations or defocusing often result in blurred image areas, especially in large-scale micrographs and at high magnifications. As the robustness of the image-processing analysis methods is highly dependent on the image grade, the image quality directly affects the quantitative structural analysis. We present a deep learning model which, when using appropriate training data, is capable of increasing the image sharpness of light microscope images. We show that a sharpness correction for blurred images can successfully be performed using deep learning, taking the examples of steels with a bainitic microstructure, non-metallic inclusions in the context of steel purity degree analyses, aluminumsilicon cast alloys, sintered magnets, and lithium-ion batteries. We furthermore examine whether geometric accuracy is ensured in the artificially resharpened images.