  This paper addresses the problem of imaging in the presence of
diffraction-photons. Diffraction-photons arise from the low contrast ratio of
DMDs ($\sim\,1000:1$), and very much degrade the quality of images captured by
SPAD-based systems. Herein, a joint illumination-deconvolution scheme is
designed to overcome diffraction-photons, enabling the acquisition of intensity
and depth images. Additionally, a proof-of-concept experiment is conducted to
demonstrate the viability of the designed scheme. It is shown that by
co-designing the illumination and deconvolution phases of imaging, one can
substantially overcome diffraction-photons.
