Phase microscopy of technical and biological samples through random phase modulation with a diffuser.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Biomedical Imaging
• Microscopy

Background:

• Phase microscopy is crucial for visualizing unstained biological and material samples.
• Traditional phase contrast methods often require specialized objectives or complex alignment.
• Developing advanced wavefront reconstruction techniques is essential for high-resolution imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a new phase microscopy technique utilizing a phase diffuser and iterative phase retrieval.
• To achieve whole-field, high-resolution phase reconstruction of microstructures.
• To demonstrate the method's effectiveness on diverse samples.

Main Methods:

• A phase diffuser modulates the specimen's magnified wavefront into a speckle field.
• Speckle patterns are captured at axially displaced planes.
• An iterative phase retrieval algorithm, based on wave-propagation equations, reconstructs the phase information.

Main Results:

• The technique successfully reconstructs the phase information of microstructures.
• High-resolution, whole-field phase maps were generated.
• The method was validated using photoresist targets and human cheek cells.

Conclusions:

• The proposed phase microscopy technique offers a robust and effective approach for unstained imaging.
• It provides high-resolution wavefront reconstruction without the need for staining or complex optical components.
• This method has potential applications in various fields requiring detailed microscopic analysis.