Hyperspectral tomographic diffractive microscopy: Development and applications

Tomographic Diffractive Microscopy (TDM) provides label-free three-dimensional imaging of transparent samples with resolution surpassing confocal limits. At IRIMAS, successive instrumental developments since 2009 have enhanced TDM capabilities through transmission, reflection, isotropic, polarisation-sensitive, and dual-view configurations. However, conventional single-wavelength TDM cannot distinguish chemically distinct structures with similar optical properties at the measurement wavelength. This article presents the development of hyperspectral TDM, which exploits wavelength-dependent optical properties to provide chemical specificity through 3D spectroscopic characterisation. We describe the physical principles underlying TDM reconstruction, detail our integration of a supercontinuum source for multi-wavelength capability, and outline applications in biomedical and material imaging. Our structured development roadmap encompasses instrumentation, calibration, hyperspectral synthesis, and AI-enhanced reconstruction.