Phase curvature compensation in digital holographic microscopy based on phase gradient fitting and optimization

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Microscopy Techniques
• Computational Imaging

Background:

• Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) is a powerful imaging technique.
• Phase curvature is a common aberration in DHM, degrading image quality.
• Accurate phase retrieval is crucial for quantitative analysis in DHM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a numerical method for effective phase curvature compensation in DHM.
• To enable aberration correction without additional hardware or prior setup information.
• To improve the accuracy and reliability of quantitative phase imaging in DHM.

Main Methods:

• A numerical phase mask is subtracted from the distorted phase data.
• Phase mask parameters are determined through phase gradient fitting and optimization.
• A spectrum energy search refines the phase mask parameters for accurate compensation.

Main Results:

• The proposed method successfully compensates for phase curvature in digital holograms.
• Computer simulations validated the effectiveness of the numerical compensation technique.
• Experimental results confirmed the feasibility and performance of the method in real-world DHM.

Conclusions:

• The numerical phase mask approach offers a robust solution for phase aberration in DHM.
• This method eliminates the need for external devices or knowledge of the optical setup.
• The technique enhances the applicability of DHM for various scientific and industrial applications.