Measurements validating the confocal scanning laser holography microscope

A confocal scanning laser holography (CSLH) microscope that uniquely combines the concepts of confocal microscopy with holography has been validated for making nonintrusive, full three-dimensional (3D) intensity and phase measurements of objects from a single viewpoint of observation without loss of object information. The phase measurements have been used to determine the 3D refractive indices of a point source heated silicone oil. The refractive indices are converted to 3D temperature measurements, which are useful for heat transfer studies. An important feature of CSLH is its nonintrusive 3D scanning method, which enables its application to the study of Marangoni convection in microgravity with minimal operational vibrations affecting the motion of fluid in the specimen.