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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 21, 2025

In vivo Clonal Tracking of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells Marked by Five Fluorescent Proteins using Confocal and Multiphoton Microscopy

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DMD-based three-dimensional chromatic confocal microscopy.

Shaobai Li, Rongguang Liang

|May 14, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

A novel digital mirror device (DMD)-based chromatic confocal microscopy enables 3D surface profiling without mechanical scanning. This technique uses a DMD for lateral scanning and chromatic aberration for axial scanning, achieving precise surface measurements.

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Area of Science:

Optical microscopy
Metrology
Surface characterization

Background:

Traditional 3D surface profiling often relies on mechanical scanning, which can be slow and prone to wear.
Confocal microscopy offers high resolution but typically requires mechanical scanning for depth profiling.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose and demonstrate a digital mirror device (DMD)-based chromatic confocal microscopy system.
To achieve 3D surface profiling without mechanical scanning, enhancing speed and reliability.

Main Methods:

Utilizing a digital mirror device (DMD) as both a multipoint source and multi-pinhole for lateral scanning.
Employing chromatic aberration of confocal optics for axial scanning.
Implementing a calibration procedure to correct for tilt effects from the DMD's micromirror array.

Main Results:

Demonstrated 3D surface profiling without any mechanical scanning.
Achieved a measurement range of 45 µm over a 505-650 nm spectrum.
Successfully characterized a multistep sample, validating system performance.

Conclusions:

The DMD-based chromatic confocal microscopy is a viable technique for high-resolution 3D surface profiling.
The system offers advantages in speed and reduced mechanical complexity compared to traditional methods.
Further improvements in measurement range are possible with custom objectives exhibiting larger chromatic aberration.