Quantitative orientation-independent differential interference contrast microscope with fast switching shear direction and bias modulation
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https://hdl.handle.net/1912/6398As published
https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAA.30.000769DOI
10.1364/JOSAA.30.000769Abstract
We describe a quantitative orientation-independent differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope, which allows bias retardation to be modulated and shear directions to be switched rapidly without any mechanical movement. The shear direction is switched by a regular liquid-crystal cell sandwiched between two standard DIC prisms. Another liquid-crystal cell modulates the bias. Techniques for measuring parameters of DIC prisms and calibrating the bias are shown. Two sets of raw DIC images with the orthogonal shear directions are captured within 1 s. Then the quantitative image of optical path gradient distribution within a thin optical section is computed. The gradient data are used to obtain a quantitative distribution of the optical path, which represents the refractive index gradient or height distribution. Computing enhanced regular DIC images with any desired shear direction is also possible.
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Author Posting. © Optical Society of America, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of Optical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Optical Society of America A: Optics, Image Science, and Vision 30 (2013): 769-782, doi:10.1364/JOSAA.30.000769.