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Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Quantitative Optical Microscopy: Measurement of Cellular Biophysical Features with a Standard Optical Microscope
Published on: April 7, 2014
Overall characterization of assembled optical storage devices with a heterodyne microscope: a qualitative comparison
J Mauricio Flores1, Moisés Cywiak, Fernando Mendoza
1Centro de Investigaciones en Optica, A.C., Loma del Bosque 115, Lomas del Campestre, León, Guanajuato, México 37150.
Abstract:
We present local profile measurements of inner mirrorlike and external front-end polycarbonate surfaces at the same spot of assembled optical storage devices, a CD and a DVD, performed with a heterodyne scanning interferometer that uses Gaussian beams. We show that the heterodyne interferometer can reproduce the profiles of both surfaces with accurate precision. We describe a procedure for calibrating the instrument based on the measurement of reflecting calibrated gratings. To show the advantages that the heterodyne interferometer represents as a valuable tool for the characterization of optical disks, we include a comparison of experimental results obtained with a confocal microscope under similar working conditions.
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