Color imaging-in-flow by digital holographic microscopy with permanent defect and aberration corrections

Color imaging-in-flow of particles is performed using red-green-blue (RGB) digital holographic microscopy (DHM), whose sources are partially coherent. RGB DHM provides intensity and quantitative phase images in the three color channels, which is valuable for observing small objects in numerous fields. In-flow investigation on a large depth of field is made possible by the refocusing capability of DHM and has many potential applications. A method is also developed to automatically correct the color balance and compensate both intensity and phase defects and aberrations, providing high-quality imaging. Experimental results show color in-flow analysis of microplankton and confirm the efficiency of the correction method.