We propose a new portable imaging configuration that can double the field of view (FOV) of existing off-axis interferometric imaging setups, including broadband off-axis interferometers. This configuration is attached at the output port of the off-axis interferometer and optically creates a multiplexed interferogram on the digital camera, which is composed of two off-axis interferograms with straight fringes at orthogonal directions. Each of these interferograms contains a different FOV of the imaged sample. Due to the separation of these two FOVs in the spatial-frequency domain, they can be fully reconstructed separately, while obtaining two complex wavefronts from the sample at once. Since the optically multiplexed off-axis interferogram is recorded by the camera in a single exposure, fast dynamics can be recorded with a doubled imaging area. We used this technique for quantitative phase microscopy of biological samples with extended FOV. We demonstrate attaching the proposed module to a diffractive phase microscopy interferometer, illuminated by a broadband light source. The biological samples used for the experimental demonstrations include microscopic diatom shells, cancer cells, and flowing blood cells.
We present a new approach of optically multiplexing several off-axis interferograms on the same digital camera, each of which encodes a different field of view of the sample. Since the fringes of these interferograms are in different directions, as obtained experimentally by the optical system, we are able to double or even triple the amount of information that can be acquired in a single camera exposure, with the same number of camera pixels, while sharing the camera dynamic range. We show that this method can partially solve the problem of limited off-axis interferometric field of view due to low-coherence illumination. Our experimental demonstrations include quantitative phase imaging of microscopic diatom shells, fast swimming sperm cells and microorganisms, and contracting cardiomyocytes.
Interferometric phase microscopy (IPM) is a quantitative optical imaging method for capturing the phase profiles of thin
samples. While being an invaluable tool for biological and medical research, most IPM setups are unfriendly for
inexperienced users, and have limited field of view (FOV). To overcome the limited FOV problem, it is possible to scan
the sample and record a wider FOV. However, dynamic samples might move by the time the scan is over. Here, we
review our previously published work presenting a new quantitative imaging technique, referred to as interferometry
with tripled-imaging area (ITIA), which is capable of capturing three off-axis interferometric fields of view in a single
camera exposure, thus tripling the acquired information without the need to scan the sample, without decreasing the
image resolution, and without changing the system magnification. Our experimental demonstrations were done by using
an inverted transmission microscope illuminated by a Helium-Neon laser. The sample is projected onto the image plane
at the output of the microscope, where the ITIA module is placed. Various biological and non-biological samples were
imaged.
We present our recent advances in the development of compact, highly portable and inexpensive wide-field interferometric modules. By a smart design of the interferometric system, including the usage of low-coherence illumination sources and common-path off-axis geometry of the interferometers, spatial and temporal noise levels of the resulting quantitative thickness profile can be sub-nanometric, while processing the phase profile in real time. In addition, due to novel experimentally-implemented multiplexing methods, we can capture low-coherence off-axis interferograms with significantly extended field of view and in faster acquisition rates. Using these techniques, we quantitatively imaged rapid dynamics of live biological cells including sperm cells and unicellular microorganisms. Then, we demonstrated dynamic profiling during lithography processes of microscopic elements, with thicknesses that may vary from several nanometers to hundreds of microns. Finally, we present new algorithms for fast reconstruction (including digital phase unwrapping) of off-axis interferograms, which allow real-time processing in more than video rate on regular single-core computers.
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