Nonscanning three-dimensional optical microscope based on the reflectivity-height transformation for biological measurements

Full-field transmission-type angle-deviation optical microscope with reflectivity-height transformation

This full-field transmission-type three-dimensional (3D) optical microscope is constructed based on the angle deviation method (ADM) and the algorithm of reflectivity-height transformation (RHT). The surface height is proportional to the deviation angle of light passing through the object. The angle deviation and surface height can be measured based on the reflectivity closed to the critical angle using a parallelogram prism and two CCDs.

High Vertical Resolution Full-Field Reflection-Type Three-Dimensional Angle-Deviation Microscope with Nonlinear Error Compensation

This study examines the use of reflectivity-height transformation in full-field angle-deviation microscopes (ADM). In such microscopes, two light intensity distribution images of a prism's total internal reflection and critical angle are obtained separately with two charge-coupled devices (CCDs), and are converted into a reflectivity profile point-to-point and then into angle of deviation matrix after the beam is reflected by the test sample; finally, the surface height of the sample is found through the triangular geometrical relationship. This method obtains the image through the effective imaging area of CCD. Once the two-dimensional (2D) image is obtained, the third dimension, height, is added to create a full-field 3D surface profile. Its conversion process is nonlinear; therefore, compensation must be made to reduce measurement errors. The optical magnification of high vertical resolution full-field 3D reflection-type ADM could reach >250 times, thus providing submicron measurements with nanometer vertical resolution and allowing for the simultaneous measurement of 2D and 3D images. Small defects on both transparent and nontransparent surfaces can be rapidly detected.