Polarization-Dependent All-Dielectric Metasurface for Single-Shot Quantitative Phase Imaging

Eagle-Eye Inspired Meta-Device for Phase Imaging

The dual-focus vision observed in eagles' eyes is an intriguing phenomenon captivates scientists since a long time. Inspired by this natural occurrence, the authors' research introduces a novel bifocal meta-device incorporating a polarized camera capable of simultaneously capturing images for two different polarizations with slightly different focal distances. This innovative approach facilitates the concurrent acquisition of underfocused and overfocused images in a single snapshot, enabling the effective extraction of quantitative phase information from the object using the transport of intensity equation. Experimental demonstrations showcase the application of quantitative phase imaging to artificial objects and human embryonic kidney cells, particularly emphasizing the meta-device's relevance in dynamic scenarios such as laser-induced ablation in human embryonic kidney cells. Moreover, it provides a solution for the quantification during the dynamic process at the cellular level. Notably, the proposed eagle-eye inspired meta-device for phase imaging (EIMPI), due to its simplicity and compact nature, holds promise for significant applications in fields such as endoscopy and headsets, where a lightweight and compact setup is essential.

All-optical complex field imaging using diffractive processors

Complex field imaging, which captures both the amplitude and phase information of input optical fields or objects, can offer rich structural insights into samples, such as their absorption and refractive index distributions. However, conventional image sensors are intensity-based and inherently lack the capability to directly measure the phase distribution of a field. This limitation can be overcome using interferometric or holographic methods, often supplemented by iterative phase retrieval algorithms, leading to a considerable increase in hardware complexity and computational demand. Here, we present a complex field imager design that enables snapshot imaging of both the amplitude and quantitative phase information of input fields using an intensity-based sensor array without any digital processing. Our design utilizes successive deep learning-optimized diffractive surfaces that are structured to collectively modulate the input complex field, forming two independent imaging channels that perform amplitude-to-amplitude and phase-to-intensity transformations between the input and output planes within a compact optical design, axially spanning ~100 wavelengths. The intensity distributions of the output fields at these two channels on the sensor plane directly correspond to the amplitude and quantitative phase profiles of the input complex field, eliminating the need for any digital image reconstruction algorithms. We experimentally validated the efficacy of our complex field diffractive imager designs through 3D-printed prototypes operating at the terahertz spectrum, with the output amplitude and phase channel images closely aligning with our numerical simulations. We envision that this complex field imager will have various applications in security, biomedical imaging, sensing and material science, among others.

Metasurface for Engineering Superimposed Ince-Gaussian Beams

Ince-Gaussian beams (IGBs) are the third complete family of exact and orthogonal solutions of the paraxial wave equation and have been applied in many fields ranging from particle trapping to quantum optics. IGBs play a very important role in optics as they represent the exact and continuous transition modes connecting Laguerre-Gaussian and Hermite-Gaussian beams. The method currently in use suffers from the high cost, complexity, and large volume of the optical system. The superposition of IGBs can generate complicated structured beams with multiple phase and polarization singularities. A metasurface approach is proposed to realizing various superpositions of IGBs without relying on a complicated optical setup. By superimposing IGBs with even and odd modes, multiple phase, and polarization singularities are observed in the resultant beams. The phase and polarization singularities are modulated by setting the initial phase in the design and controlling the incident linear polarization. The compactness of the developed metasurface devices and the unique properties of the generated beams have the potential to impact many practical applications such as particle manipulation, orbital angular momentum spectrum manipulation, and optical communications.

Single-shot deterministic complex amplitude imaging with a single-layer metalens

Conventional imaging systems can only capture light intensity. Meanwhile, the lost phase information may be critical for a variety of applications such as label-free microscopy and optical metrology. Existing phase retrieval techniques typically require a bulky setup, multiframe measurements, or prior information of the target scene. Here, we proposed an extremely compact system for complex amplitude imaging, leveraging the extreme versatility of a single-layer metalens to generate spatially multiplexed and polarization phase-shifted point spread functions. Combining the metalens with a polarization camera, the system can simultaneously record four polarization shearing interference patterns along both in-plane directions, thus allowing the deterministic reconstruction of the complex amplitude light field in a single shot. Using an incoherent light-emitting diode as the illumination, we experimentally demonstrated speckle-noise-free complex amplitude imaging for both static and moving objects with tailored magnification ratio and field of view. The miniaturized and robust system may open the door for complex amplitude imaging in portable devices for point-of-care applications.

Dielectric Metasurface Enabled Compact, Single-Shot Digital Holography for Quantitative Phase Imaging

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) enables nondestructive, real-time, label-free imaging of transparent specimens and can reveal information about their fundamental properties such as cell size and morphology, mass density, particle dynamics, and cellular fluctuations. Development of high-performance and low-cost quantitative phase imaging systems is thus required in many fields, including on-site biomedical imaging and industrial inspection. Here, we propose an ultracompact, highly stable interferometer based on a single-layer dielectric metasurface for common path off-axis digital holography and experimentally demonstrate quantitative phase imaging. The interferometric imaging system leveraging an ultrathin multifunctional metasurface captures image plane holograms in a single shot and provides quantitative phase information on the test samples for extraction of its physical properties. With the benefits of planar engineering and high integrability, the proposed metasurface-based method establishes a stable miniaturized QPI system for reliable and cost-effective point-of-care devices, live cell imaging, 3D topography, and edge detection for optical computing.

Flexible dynamic quantitative phase imaging based on division of focal plane polarization imaging technique

This paper proposes a flexible and accurate dynamic quantitative phase imaging (QPI) method using single-shot transport of intensity equation (TIE) phase retrieval achieved by division of focal plane (DoFP) polarization imaging technique. By exploiting the polarization property of the liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM), two intensity images of different defocus distances contained in orthogonal polarization directions can be generated simultaneously. Then, with the help of the DoFP polarization imaging, these images can be captured with single exposure, enabling accurate dynamic QPI by solving the TIE. In addition, our approach gains great flexibility in defocus distance adjustment by adjusting the pattern loaded on the LC-SLM. Experiments on microlens array, phase plate, and living human gastric cancer cells demonstrate the accuracy, flexibility, and dynamic measurement performance for various objects. The proposed method provides a simple, flexible, and accurate approach for real-time QPI without sacrificing the field of view.

Single-shot isotropic differential interference contrast microscopy

Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy allows high-contrast, low-phototoxicity, and label-free imaging of transparent biological objects, and has been applied in the field of cellular morphology, cell segmentation, particle tracking, optical measurement and others. Commercial DIC microscopy based on Nomarski or Wollaston prism resorts to the interference of two polarized waves with a lateral differential offset (shear) and axial phase shift (bias). However, the shear generated by these prisms is limited to the rectilinear direction, unfortunately resulting in anisotropic contrast imaging. Here we propose an ultracompact metasurface-assisted isotropic DIC (i-DIC) microscopy based on a grand original pattern of radial shear interferometry, that converts the rectilinear shear into rotationally symmetric along radial direction, enabling single-shot isotropic imaging capabilities. The i-DIC presents a complementary fusion of typical meta-optics, traditional microscopes and integrated optical system, and showcases the promising and synergetic advancements in edge detection, particle motion tracking, and label-free cellular imaging.

Thin film notch filters as platforms for biological image processing

Many image processing operations involve the modification of the spatial frequency content of images. Here we demonstrate object-plane spatial frequency filtering utilizing the angular sensitivity of a commercial spectral bandstop filter. This approach to all-optical image processing is shown to generate real-time pseudo-3D images of transparent biological and other samples, such as human cervical cancer cells. This work demonstrates the potential of non-local, non-interferometric approaches to image processing for uses in label-free biological cell imaging and dynamical monitoring.

Quantitative phase contrast imaging with a nonlocal angle-selective metasurface

Phase contrast microscopy has played a central role in the development of modern biology, geology, and nanotechnology. It can visualize the structure of translucent objects that remains hidden in regular optical microscopes. The optical layout of a phase contrast microscope is based on a 4 f image processing setup and has essentially remained unchanged since its invention by Zernike in the early 1930s. Here, we propose a conceptually new approach to phase contrast imaging that harnesses the non-local optical response of a guided-mode-resonator metasurface. We highlight its benefits and demonstrate the imaging of various phase objects, including biological cells, polymeric nanostructures, and transparent metasurfaces. Our results showcase that the addition of this non-local metasurface to a conventional microscope enables quantitative phase contrast imaging with a 0.02π phase accuracy. At a high level, this work adds to the growing body of research aimed at the use of metasurfaces for analog optical computing.

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

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.

Fourier Optical Spin Splitting Microscopy

In this Letter, we propose a new quantitative phase imaging methodology named Fourier optical spin splitting microscopy (FOSSM). FOSSM relies on a metasurface located at the Fourier plane of a polarized microscope to separate the object image into two replicas of opposite circularly polarized states. The bias retardation between the two replicas is tuned by translating the metasurface or rotating the analyzer. Combined with a polarized camera, FOSSM can easily achieve single-shot quantitative phase gradient imaging, which greatly reduces the complexity of current phase microscope setups, paving the way for the next generation high-speed real-time multifunctional microscopy.

Real-Time Phase Retrieval Based on Cube-Corner Prisms Single Exposure

The phase retrieval method based on the Transport of Intensity Equation needs to record the light intensity information on two or more planes perpendicular to the optical axis propagating along the optical axis. Usually, a single CCD camera is moved back and forth for recording, which not only brings the corresponding mechanical errors, but also has a certain time difference between the collected intensity images, which cannot meet the real-time requirements. In this paper, a single phase retrieval technique based on cube-corner prisms is proposed. This method can simultaneously collect the required initial intensity image in a single exposure, and then calculate the phase after registration and repair, so as to obtain high-precision results. According to the parallel reflection characteristics of the cube-corner prisms, the experimental system designed correspondingly can not only stagger the two beams separated by the beam splitter, but also ensure that the upper and lower propagation distances of a single beam are equal. Finally, the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method are fully verified by simulation experiments and experimental measurements.

Polarization-dispersive imaging spectrometer for scattering circular dichroism spectroscopy of single chiral nanostructures

Circular dichroism spectroscopy is one of the most important tools in nanoscopic chiroptics. However, there is lack of simple, fast and reliable method for measuring the circular dichroism responses of single nanostructures. To tackle this issue, we report a polarization-dispersive imaging spectrometer which is capable of measuring the scattering circular dichroism response of a single chiral nanostructure with a single shot. Using this technique, we studied the scattering circular dichroism spectra of a model system, the vertically coupled plasmonic nanorod pair. Both experimental and theoretical results indicate that the polarization-dispersive spectrometer measures the imaginary part of nonlocal susceptibility of the structure. We further applied the technique to 3-dimensional Au nanorod structures assembled on DNA origami templates together with correlated scanning electron microscopic measurements. Rich chiroptical phenomena were unveiled at the single nanostructure level.

Optical module for single-shot quantitative phase imaging based on the transport of intensity equation with field of view multiplexing

We present a cost-effective, simple, and robust method that enables single-shot quantitative phase imaging (QPI) based on the transport of intensity equation (TIE) using an add-on optical module that can be assembled into the exit port of any regular microscope. The module integrates a beamsplitter (BS) cube (placed in a non-conventional way) for duplicating the output image onto the digital sensor (field of view - FOV - multiplexing), a Stokes lens (SL) for astigmatism compensation (introduced by the BS cube), and an optical quality glass plate over one of the FOV halves for defocusing generation (needed for single-shot TIE algorithm). Altogether, the system provides two laterally separated intensity images that are simultaneously recorded and slightly defocused one to each other, thus enabling accurate QPI by conventional TIE-based algorithms in a single snapshot. The proposed optical module is first calibrated for defining the configuration providing best QPI performance and, second, experimentally validated by using different phase samples (static and dynamic ones). The proposed configuration might be integrated in a compact three-dimensional (3D) printed module and coupled to any conventional microscope for QPI of dynamic transparent samples.