Single-shot quantitative phase imaging with phase modulation of a liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) under white light illumination

Opt Lett. 2022 Oct 15;47(20):5264-5267. doi: 10.1364/OL.468807.

Abstract

We propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, single-shot quantitative phase imaging (QPI) technique with the phase modulation of a liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) under white light illumination. By studying the phase modulation characteristics of an LC-SLM under white light illumination, images captured at different wavelengths are equivalent to those captured at different defocus distances when loading a Fresnel lens pattern on the LC-SLM. Consequently, a color camera is able to simultaneously acquire multi-intensity images at different defocus distances. Finally, the phase is retrieved from a single-shot color image using the transport of intensity equation. To demonstrate the flexibility and accuracy of our method, a photoetched phase object and human red blood cells are quantitatively measured. An investigation of living yeast cells is conducted to verify the dynamic measurement capability. The proposed method provides a simple, efficient, and flexible means to accomplish real-time high-resolution quantitative phase imaging without sacrificing the field of view (FOV), which can be further integrated into a conventional microscope to achieve real-time microscopic QPI.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Light
  • Lighting*
  • Liquid Crystals* / chemistry
  • Microscopy / methods