Interferometric microimaging based on geometrical spin-redirection phase

A novel scheme for an interferometric microscope with which to visualize a geometrical spin-redirection phase image that represents the local inclination of microsurface structures of an object is proposed. The observed phase depends on the state of polarization and the optical constants of the object material, which enable one to distinguish the spin-redirection phase from the conventional dynamical-phase. A preliminary experiment was performed, and the phase images obtained were found to be consistent with those predicted by computer simulation based on a theoretical model.