Multi-wavelength quantitative polarization and phase microscope

Abstract

We introduce a snapshot multi-wavelength quantitative polarization and phase microscope (MQPPM) for measuring spectral dependent quantitative polarization and phase information. The system uniquely integrates a polarized light microscope and a snap-shot quantitative phase microscope in a single system, utilizing a novel full-Stokes camera operating in the red, green, and blue (RGB) spectrum. The linear retardance and fast axis orientation of a birefringent sample can be measured simultaneously in the visible spectra. Both theoretical analysis and experiments have been performed to demonstrate the capability of the proposed microscope. Data from liquid crystal and different biological samples are presented. We believe that MQPPM will be a useful tool in measuring quantitative polarization and phase information of live cells.

Pathological crystal imaging with single‐shot computational polarized light microscopy

“…To reconstruct the full Stokes parameters of polarized light, these approaches capture several images while mechanically or electronically rotating the polarizers, which unavoidably adds complexity and cost to the imaging system, and limits the imaging frame rate. As an alternative approach, one can encode the polarization information with pixel‐based polarizers on the focal plane, which is often referred to as pixelated polarizer camera; in fact, this approach has been utilized for various applications, in for example, metrology, polarimetry, interferometry and microscopy .…”

Single-Shot Quantitative Polarization Imaging of Complex Birefringent Structure Dynamics

“…18,19,33,34 Focusing on the extraction of the specimen's retardance and orientation angle distribution, we have developed an efficient parameter retrieval algorithm for high-speed imaging using a simple, low-cost instrument. The recent progress in this field can be separated into two groups: The first group 18,19 realizes single-shot polarization imaging using polarization cameras, where pixels within a cluster have different polarization filters to enable single-shot acquisition of the full Jones matrix or Stokes vector. While this approach is fast and provides a comprehensive measurement of the Jones matrix components, its need for a specialized camera may be a significant hurdle for adoption.…”

“…To explore fast dynamics in birefringent structures, several high-speed quantitative polarization imaging techniques have been developed. Single-shot quantitative imaging of anisotropic sample's Stokes vectors 18,19 has been realized by adopting polarization cameras. 29,30 Alternatively, high-speed polarization imaging techniques combining polarization light microscopy with digital holographic microscopy 6,21,31,32 reduced the number of image acquisitions for quantitative retrieval of the polarization parameters.…”

“…While qualitative polarization imaging with PLM has been broadly employed, quantitative polarization imaging is important for investigations of optically anisotropic materials. Stokes vectors, , Jones matrix, , and their associated polarization parameters have been used to quantitatively describe optical anisotropy. Among all of these polarization parameters, retardance and orientation angle are the two essential ones that are typically used for quantifying the properties and structures of birefringent specimens with weak scattering and negligible absorption, such as a thin layer of tendon or liquid crystals.…”

“…To explore fast dynamics in birefringent structures, several high-speed quantitative polarization imaging techniques have been developed. Single-shot quantitative imaging of anisotropic sample’s Stokes vectors , has been realized by adopting polarization cameras. , Alternatively, high-speed polarization imaging techniques combining polarization light microscopy with digital holographic microscopy ,,, reduced the number of image acquisitions for quantitative retrieval of the polarization parameters. Furthermore, single-shot quantitative imaging of the samples’ Jones matrix has been reported. , Several years ago, we reported a single-shot quantitative polarization imaging technique utilizing shearing interferometry that can recover the anisotropic samples’ retardance and orientation angle maps simultaneously.…”