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...
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,...
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...
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...
Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy01:37

Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (SRFM) provides a better resolution than conventional fluorescence microscopy by reducing the point spread function (PSF). PSF is the light intensity distribution from a point that causes it to appear blurred. Due to PSF, each fluorescing point appears bigger than its actual size, and it is the PSF interference of nearby fluorophores that causes the blurred image. Various approaches to achieving higher resolution through SRFM have recently been developed.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Automated HER2 Scoring with Uncertainty Quantification Using Lensfree Holography and Deep Learning.

BME frontiers·2026
Same author

Snapshot 3D image projection using a diffractive decoder.

Light, science & applications·2026
Same author

Autonomous Uncertainty Quantification for Computational Point-of-Care Sensors.

ACS nano·2026
Same author

Universal and transferable attacks on pathology foundation models using microscopic perturbations.

Light, science & applications·2026
Same author

Super-resolution image projection over an extended depth of field using a diffractive decoder.

Light, science & applications·2026
Same author

Deep learning-enhanced dual-mode multiplexed optical sensor for point-of-care diagnostics of cardiovascular diseases.

Light, science & applications·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Compact Lens-less Digital Holographic Microscope for MEMS Inspection and Characterization
10:28

Compact Lens-less Digital Holographic Microscope for MEMS Inspection and Characterization

Published on: July 5, 2016

On-chip differential interference contrast microscopy using lensless digital holography.

Chulwoo Oh1, Serhan O Isikman, Bahar Khademhosseinieh

  • 1Electrical Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Optics Express
|April 15, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study presents an on-chip differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope using lensless digital holography and a birefringent crystal. The novel method rapidly recovers differential phase contrast images of micro-objects over a large field-of-view.

More Related Videos

Lensless Fluorescent Microscopy on a Chip
11:23

Lensless Fluorescent Microscopy on a Chip

Published on: August 17, 2011

Lensfree On-chip Tomographic Microscopy Employing Multi-angle Illumination and Pixel Super-resolution
08:41

Lensfree On-chip Tomographic Microscopy Employing Multi-angle Illumination and Pixel Super-resolution

Published on: August 16, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Compact Lens-less Digital Holographic Microscope for MEMS Inspection and Characterization
10:28

Compact Lens-less Digital Holographic Microscope for MEMS Inspection and Characterization

Published on: July 5, 2016

Lensless Fluorescent Microscopy on a Chip
11:23

Lensless Fluorescent Microscopy on a Chip

Published on: August 17, 2011

Lensfree On-chip Tomographic Microscopy Employing Multi-angle Illumination and Pixel Super-resolution
08:41

Lensfree On-chip Tomographic Microscopy Employing Multi-angle Illumination and Pixel Super-resolution

Published on: August 16, 2012

Area of Science:

  • Optics and Photonics
  • Microscopy
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy is a powerful technique for visualizing unstained biological specimens.
  • Traditional DIC microscopes are often complex and bulky, limiting their application in certain settings.
  • Lensless digital holography offers a compact and potentially lower-cost alternative for microscopic imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a miniaturized, on-chip differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope.
  • To integrate lensless digital holography with a birefringent crystal for DIC imaging.
  • To demonstrate the recovery of differential phase contrast images from holographic data.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a birefringent crystal and lensless digital holography.
  • Employed an incoherent source with a large aperture to create in-line holograms.
  • Holograms interacted with a uniaxial crystal and an absorbing polarizer to encode DIC information.
  • Applied holographic digital processing to recover phase contrast images.

Main Results:

  • Successfully created an on-chip DIC microscope.
  • Encoded differential interference contrast information onto holograms.
  • Recovered differential phase contrast images of micro-objects.
  • Achieved a large field-of-view of approximately 24 mm(2).

Conclusions:

  • The developed on-chip DIC microscope is effective for visualizing micro-objects.
  • Lensless digital holography combined with birefringent crystals offers a viable approach for compact DIC microscopy.
  • The method enables rapid recovery of phase contrast images over a large field-of-view.