Single-shot common-path off-axis dual-wavelength digital holographic microscopy

Moving grating-based laser heterodyne digital holographic microscopy system for measuring dynamic phase of living cell attachment

We propose a laser heterodyne digital holography microscopy system based on a moving grating, which uses the Doppler principle between a moving grating and beam to achieve a low-frequency bias between the diffracted beams, abandoning traditional heterodyne digital holography that requires multiple acousto-optic modulators. The dynamic phase distribution obtained using the laser heterodyne digital holography phase-reconstruction algorithm was more realistic and analyzable than the results of the angular spectrum algorithm. The structure and algorithm were used to capture the shape characteristics of mouse fibroblasts after ~2 h of incubation (37°C, 5% CO2), and the dynamic phase distribution of the cells was monitored in real-time during the attachment process. The system proposed in this study, with its high spatial resolution and high-precision phase measurement capability, is suitable for both static and live cells.

Convenient dual-wavelength digital holography based on orthogonal polarization strategy with a Wollaston prism

Dual-wavelength digital holography effectively expands the measurement range of digital holography, but it increases the complexity of optical system due to non-common-path of two wavelengths. Here, by using orthogonal polarization strategy, we present a dual-wavelength digital holography based on a Wollaston prism (DWDH-WP) to separate the reference beams of two wavelengths and realize the common-path of two wavelengths. A Wollaston prism is inset into the reference beam path of the off-axis digital holography system, so two orthogonal-polarized reference beams of two different wavelengths separated at different directions are generated. Then a dual-wavelength multiplexed interferogram with orthogonal interference fringes is captured by using a monochrome camera, in which both the polarization orientations and the interference fringe orientations of two wavelengths are orthogonal, so the spectral crosstalk of two wavelengths with arbitrary wavelength difference can be avoided. Compared with the existing DWDH method, the proposed DWDH-WP method can conveniently realize the common-path of the reference beams of two wavelengths, so it reveals obvious advantages in spectral separation, spectral crosstalk, system simplification, and adjustment flexibility. Both effectiveness and flexibility of the proposed DWDH-WP method are demonstrated by the phase measurement of the HeLa cell and vortex phase plate.

Live Cell Imaging by Single-Shot Common-Path Wide Field-of-View Reflective Digital Holographic Microscope

Quantitative phase imaging by digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is a nondestructive and label-free technique that has been playing an indispensable role in the fields of science, technology, and biomedical imaging. The technique is competent in imaging and analyzing label-free living cells and investigating reflective surfaces. Herein, we introduce a new configuration of a wide field-of-view single-shot common-path off-axis reflective DHM for the quantitative phase imaging of biological cells that leverages several advantages, including being less-vibration sensitive to external perturbations due to its common-path configuration, also being compact in size, simple in optical design, highly stable, and cost-effective. A detailed description of the proposed DHM system, including its optical design, working principle, and capability for phase imaging, is presented. The applications of the proposed system are demonstrated through quantitative phase imaging results obtained from the reflective surface (USAF resolution test target) as well as transparent samples (living plant cells). The proposed system could find its applications in the investigation of several biological specimens and the optical metrology of micro-surfaces.

Phase compensation algorithm based on image segmentation in dual-wavelength holographic microscopy

In order to solve the problem of phase compensation errors in the traditional 2π phase compensation method caused by a rough surface and complex structure of objects in dual-wavelength digital holographic microscopy, a phase compensation algorithm based on image segmentation was proposed. First, the phase less than zero in the phase obtained by an equivalent wavelength is compensated for by adding 2π initially. Then the phase after the initial compensation is binarized, and the small connected areas in the binarized graph are removed, so as to obtain a new binarized graph. Finally, according to the two binarized graphs, the phase of the object after the initial 2π phase compensation is recompensated for in different regions, so as to obtain the continuous phase distribution of the object. Based on the dual-wavelength digital holographic microscopy experimental system with an adjustable equivalent wavelength, the proposed algorithm is used to perform three-dimensional imaging of the channel of the microfluidic chip. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively obtain the continuous real phase of the object when the structure of the object is known, so as to obtain a more accurate and reliable three-dimensional topography of the object. The above results provide a new idea for the high-quality three-dimensional imaging of the microfluidic system.

The phase range extension and accuracy improvement in Fresnel biprism-based digital holography microscopy

We report a highly stable and affordable dual-wavelength digital holographic microscopy system based on common-path geometry. A Fresnel biprism is used to create an off-axis geometry, and two diode laser sources with different wavelengths λ1 = 532 nm and λ2 = 650 nm generate the dual-wavelength compound hologram. In order to extend the measurement range, the phase distribution is obtained using a synthetic wavelength Λ1 = 2930.5 nm. Furthermore, to improve the system's temporal stability and reduce speckle noise, a shorter wavelength (Λ2 = 292.5 nm) is used. The feasibility of the proposed configuration is validated by the experimental results obtained with Molybdenum trioxide, Paramecium, and red blood cell specimens.

Single-shot wavelength-multiplexing for off-axis digital holography with a spectral filter

We present a single-shot wavelength-multiplexing technique for off-axis digital holography based on a spectral filter. Only a spectral filter is inserted between beam splitter and mirror in reflection off-axis digital holography (RODH). The spectral filter can transmit a well-defined wavelength band of light, while reject other unwanted radiation. By adjusting the filter and mirror separately, the propagation orientation of different reference beams of two wavelengths can be separated, and thus two off- axis holograms with different fringe directions are simultaneously captured by a monochrome camera. The wavefront interference analysis of using a spectral filter is discussed in detail. Our scheme is available for real-time wavelength-multiplexing but requires fewer optical elements and system modifications. Numerical simulation and experiment results of different types of spectral filters demonstrate the validity of proposed method.

Enhancement of image sharpness and height measurement using a low-speckle light source based on a patterned quantum dot film in dual-wavelength digital holography

A dual-wavelength single light source based on a patterned quantum dot (QD) film was developed with a 405nm LED and bandpass filters to increase color conversion efficiency as well as to decouple the two peaks of dual-wavelength emitted from the QD film. A QD film was patterned laterally with two different sizes of QDs and was combined with bandpass filters to produce a high efficiency and low-speckle dual-wavelength light source. The experimental results showed that the developed dual-wavelength light source can decrease speckle noise to improve the reconstructed image sharpness and the accuracy on height measurement in dual-wavelength digital holography.

Real-time quantitative phase imaging by single-shot dual-wavelength off-axis digital holographic microscopy

A single-shot dual-wavelength digital holographic microscopy with an adjustable off-axis configuration is presented, which helps realize real-time quantitative phase imaging for living cells. With this configuration, two sets of interference fringes corresponding to their wavelengths can be flexibly recorded onto one hologram in one shot. The universal expression on the dual-wavelength hologram recorded under any wave vector orientation angles of reference beams is given. To avoid as much as possible the effect of zero-order spectrum, we can flexibly select their carry frequencies for the two wavelengths using this adjustable off-axis configuration, according to the distribution feature of object's spatial-frequency spectrum. This merit is verified by a quantitative phase imaging experiment for the microchannel of a microfluidic chip. The reconstructed phase maps of living onion epidermal cells exhibit cellular internal life activities, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, vividly displaying the progress of the nucleus, cell wall, cytoskeleton, and the substance transport in microtubules inside living cells. These imaging results demonstrate the availability and reliability of the presented method for real-time quantitative phase imaging.

Single-shot common-path off-axis digital holography: applications in bioimaging and optical metrology [Invited]

The demand for single-shot and common-path holographic systems has become increasingly important in recent years, as such systems offer various advantages compared to their counterparts. Single-shot holographic systems, for example, reduce computational complexity as only a single hologram with the object information required to process, making them more suitable for the investigation of dynamic events; and common-path holographic systems are less vibration-sensitive, compact, inexpensive, and high in temporal phase stability. We have developed a single-shot common-path off-axis digital holographic setup based on a beam splitter and pinhole. In this paper, we present a concise review of the proposed digital holographic system for several applications, including the quantitative phase imaging to investigate the morphological and quantitative parameters, as a metrological tool for testing of micro-optics, industrial inspection and measurement, and sound field imaging and visualization.