Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy01:26

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy

Phase-Contrast Microscopes
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...
Interference and Diffraction02:18

Interference and Diffraction

Interference is a characteristic phenomenon exhibited by waves. When two electromagnetic waves interact with their peaks and troughs coinciding, a resulting wave with enhanced amplitude is produced. This is known as constructive interference. In this case, the two waves interacting are in phase with each other.
X-ray Crystallography02:18

X-ray Crystallography

The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy01:18

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy

Optical microscopy uses optic principles to provide detailed images of samples. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek designed the first compound optical microscope in the 17th century to visualize blood cells, bacteria, and yeast cells. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes with enhanced magnification and resolution.
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...
Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology01:28

Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology

Three-dimensional imaging techniques are essential in cell biology, allowing researchers to visualize intricate cellular structures with high resolution. Two prominent methods, Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy (DIC) and Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM), provide distinct advantages for imaging live and thick specimens, respectively.Differential Interference Contrast MicroscopyDIC microscopy enhances contrast in transparent, unstained samples by converting phase...
Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy01:16

Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy

Confocal microscopy is an advanced microscopic technique. The prime advantage of the confocal microscope over other microscopy techniques is its ability to block the out-of-focus light from the illuminated samples using pinholes. It is widely used with fluorescence optics to obtain high-resolution, sharp contrast images. Unlike optical microscopes, confocal microscopes use a focused beam of light laser to scan the entire sample surface at different z-planes. These microscopes are, therefore,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Optical Tweezers in Emulsion Research: Principles, Advances, and Prospects.

Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids·2026
Same author

Polarization Control via Artificial Optical Nonlinearity in Dielectric Metasurfaces.

ACS nano·2026
Same author

Magnetic vector tomography reveals giant magnetofossils are optimised for magnetointensity reception.

Communications earth & environment·2025
Same author

Compact inverted digital holographic microscope based on common-path configuration.

Applied optics·2025
Same author

An Automated Microfluidic Platform for In Vitro Raman Analysis of Living Cells.

Biosensors·2025
Same author

Optical kicking of liquid droplets for sample delivery in ultrafast soft X-ray experiments.

Journal of synchrotron radiation·2025
Same journal

Denoising algorithm of Φ-OTDR systems based on adaptive fractional wavelet transform denoising.

Optics express·2026
Same journal

Millisecond photon-to-photon latency and high-speed volumetric projection system for optogenetics.

Optics express·2026
Same journal

Polarization-encoded coaxial structured light for high-precision 3D surface profilometry.

Optics express·2026
Same journal

Discrete freeform optical design based on collaborative optimization of point cloud and local normals.

Optics express·2026
Same journal

Ultrafast ghost imaging with 25 GHz speckle switching and wavelength-division multiplexing.

Optics express·2026
Same journal

Atomic vapor cells fabricated by femtosecond laser welding of standard-optical-quality glass.

Optics express·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) Microscopy
06:49

Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) Microscopy

Published on: August 6, 2008

Diffractive optical elements for differential interference contrast x-ray microscopy.

Enzo Di Fabrizio, Dan Cojoc, Stefano Cabrini

    Optics Express
    |May 28, 2009
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    New phase diffractive optical elements (DOEs) enable advanced x-ray beam shaping for enhanced imaging. These elements offer precise control over x-ray wavefront intensity distribution for novel applications.

    More Related Videos

    Quantitative Optical Microscopy: Measurement of Cellular Biophysical Features with a Standard Optical Microscope
    14:09

    Quantitative Optical Microscopy: Measurement of Cellular Biophysical Features with a Standard Optical Microscope

    Published on: April 7, 2014

    Differential Imaging of Biological Structures with Doubly-resonant Coherent Anti-stokes Raman Scattering (CARS)
    12:56

    Differential Imaging of Biological Structures with Doubly-resonant Coherent Anti-stokes Raman Scattering (CARS)

    Published on: October 17, 2010

    Related Experiment Videos

    Last Updated: Jun 22, 2026

    Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) Microscopy
    06:49

    Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) Microscopy

    Published on: August 6, 2008

    Quantitative Optical Microscopy: Measurement of Cellular Biophysical Features with a Standard Optical Microscope
    14:09

    Quantitative Optical Microscopy: Measurement of Cellular Biophysical Features with a Standard Optical Microscope

    Published on: April 7, 2014

    Differential Imaging of Biological Structures with Doubly-resonant Coherent Anti-stokes Raman Scattering (CARS)
    12:56

    Differential Imaging of Biological Structures with Doubly-resonant Coherent Anti-stokes Raman Scattering (CARS)

    Published on: October 17, 2010

    Area of Science:

    • Optics and Photonics
    • X-ray Science
    • Materials Science

    Background:

    • Diffractive optical elements (DOEs) are crucial for manipulating light.
    • Existing DOEs primarily offer simple focusing capabilities.
    • Advanced x-ray applications require novel optical functions beyond basic focusing.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To introduce novel phase diffractive optical elements (DOEs) for x-ray applications.
    • To demonstrate the capability of DOEs to control x-ray wavefront intensity distribution with high freedom.
    • To enable new optical functions for x-ray microscopy and imaging.

    Main Methods:

    • Calculation and fabrication of high-resolution phase DOEs.
    • Design of DOEs for focusing x-rays into multiple spots or specific geometrical patterns.
    • Computer simulations and visible light experiments to validate phase shift capabilities.
    • Testing DOEs in full-field differential interference contrast (DIC) x-ray microscopy.

    Main Results:

    • Successfully designed and fabricated DOEs capable of complex x-ray beam manipulation.
    • Demonstrated focusing into multiple spots and shaping beams into desired patterns.
    • Preliminary results show the potential for introducing phase shifts to enhance image contrast.
    • Successful functionality testing in DIC x-ray microscopy at 4 keV.

    Conclusions:

    • Phase DOEs offer unprecedented control over x-ray wavefront intensity.
    • These novel DOEs can perform advanced optical functions, including multi-spot focusing and beam shaping.
    • The technology shows promise for improving image contrast and enabling new x-ray imaging techniques.