Pattern recognition with a digital holographic microscope working in partially coherent illumination

Numerical analysis of the effect of reduced temporal coherence in quantitative phase microscopy and tomography

We present the numerical analysis of the effect of the temporarily partially coherent illumination on the phase measurement accuracy in digital holography microscopy (DHM) and optical diffraction tomography (ODT), as reconstruction algorithms tend to assume purely monochromatic conditions. In the regime of reduced temporal coherence, we simulate the hologram formation in two different optical setups, representing classical off-axis two-beam and grating common-path configurations. We consider two ODT variants: with sample rotation and angle-scanning of illumination. Besides the coherence degree of illumination, our simulation considers the influence of the sample normal dispersion, shape of the light spectrum, and optical parameters of the imaging setup. As reconstruction algorithms we employ Fourier hologram method and first-order Rytov approximation with direct inversion and nonnegativity constraints. Quantitative evaluation of the measurement results deviations introduced by the mentioned error sources is comprehensively analyzed, for the first time to the best of our knowledge. Obtained outcomes indicate low final DHM/ODT reconstruction errors for the grating-assisted common-path configuration. Nevertheless, dispersion and asymmetric spectrum introduce non-negligible overestimated refractive index values and noise, and should be thus carefully considered within experimental frameworks.

Imaging bacterial 3D motion using digital in-line holographic microscopy and correlation-based de-noising algorithm

Better understanding of bacteria environment interactions in the context of biofilm formation requires accurate 3-dimentional measurements of bacteria motility. Digital Holographic Microscopy (DHM) has demonstrated its capability in resolving 3D distribution and mobility of particulates in a dense suspension. Due to their low scattering efficiency, bacteria are substantially difficult to be imaged by DHM. In this paper, we introduce a novel correlation-based de-noising algorithm to remove the background noise and enhance the quality of the hologram. Implemented in conjunction with DHM, we demonstrate that the method allows DHM to resolve 3-D E. coli bacteria locations of a dense suspension (>107 cells/ml) with submicron resolutions (<0.5 µm) over substantial depth and to obtain thousands of 3D cell trajectories.

Three-dimensional identification of microorganisms using a digital holographic microscope

This paper reports a method for three-dimensional (3D) analysis of shift-invariant pattern recognition and applies to holographic images digitally reconstructed from holographic microscopes. It is shown that the sequential application of a 2D filter to the plane-by-plane reconstruction of an optical field is exactly equivalent to the application of a more general filter with a 3D impulse response. We show that any 3D filters with arbitrary impulse response can be implemented in this way. This type of processing is applied to the two-class problem of distinguishing different types of bacteria. It is shown that the proposed technique can be easily implemented using a modified microscope to develop a powerful and cost-effective system with great potential for biological screening.

Dependency and precision of the refocusing criterion based on amplitude analysis in digital holographic microscopy

We analyze the dependency and the accuracy of the refocusing criterion based on the integrated modulus amplitude in the case of amplitude object. Analytical dependencies on the defocus distance and the numerical aperture are found. This theoretical prediction for the refocusing criterion is well supported by simulation. We study also the robustness of the refocusing criterion by adding salt and pepper and speckle-type noises. We demonstrate that the refocusing criterion is robust up to an significant level of noise that can perturb the holograms.

Phase shifting digital holography implemented with a twisted-nematic liquid-crystal display

We describe and experimentally demonstrate a phase shifting method based on the lateral displacement of a grating implemented with a twisted-nematic liquid-crystal spatial light modulator. This method allows an accurate implementation of the phase shift without requiring moving parts. The technique is implemented in a Mach-Zehnder digital holography setup in which the field transmitted by the sample object freely propagates to the hologram plane.

3-D visualization and identification of biological microorganisms using partially temporal incoherent light in-line computational holographic imaging

We present a new method for three-dimensional (3-D) visualization and identification of biological microorganisms using partially temporal incoherent light in-line (PTILI) computational holographic imaging and multivariate statistical methods. For 3-D data acquisition of biological microorganisms, the band-pass filtered white light is used to illuminate a biological sample. The transversely and longitudinally diffracted pattern of the biological sample is magnified by microscope objective (MO) and is optically recorded with an image sensor array interfaced with a computer. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the biological sample from the diffraction pattern is accomplished by using computational Fresnel propagation method. Principal components analysis and nonparametric inference algorithms are applied to the 3-D complex amplitude biological sample for identification purposes. Experiments indicate that the proposed system can be useful for identifying biological microorganisms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on using PTILI computational holographic microscopy for identification of biological microorganisms.

Fast measurements of concentration profiles inside deformable objects in microflows with reduced spatial coherence digital holography

We investigate the use of a digital holographic microscope working with partially coherent spatial illumination to study concentration profiles inside confined deformable bodies flowing in microchannels. The studied phenomenon is rapidly changing in time and requires the recording of the complete holographic information for every frame. For this purpose, we implemented one of the classical methods of off-axis digital holography: the Fourier method. Digital holography allows one to numerically investigate a volume by refocusing the different planes of depth, allowing one to locate the objects under investigation in three dimensions. Furthermore, the phase is directly related to the refractive index, thus to the concentration inside the body. Based on simple symmetry assumptions, we present an original method for determining the concentration profiles inside deformable objects in microconfined flows. Details of the optical and numerical implementation, as well as exemplative experimental results are presented.

Digital holographic microscope for measuring three-dimensional particle distributions and motions

Better understanding of particle-particle and particle-fluid interactions requires accurate 3D measurements of particle distributions and motions. We introduce the application of in-line digital holographic microscopy as a viable tool for measuring distributions of dense micrometer (3.2 microm) and submicrometer (0.75 microm) particles in a liquid solution with large depths of 1-10 mm. By recording a magnified hologram, we obtain a depth of field of approximately 1000 times the object diameter and a reduced depth of focus of approximately 10 particle diameters, both representing substantial improvements compared to a conventional microscope and in-line holography. Quantitative information on depth of field, depth of focus, and axial resolution is provided. We demonstrate that digital holographic microscopy can resolve the locations of several thousand particles and can measure their motions and trajectories using cinematographic holography. A sample trajectory and detailed morphological information of a free-swimming copepod nauplius are presented.

Superresolved imaging in digital holography by superposition of tilted wavefronts

A technique based on superresolution by digital holographic microscopic imaging is presented. We used a two dimensional (2-D) vertical-cavity self-emitting laser (VCSEL) array as spherical-wave illumination sources. The method is defined in terms of an incoherent superposition of tilted wavefronts. The tilted spherical wave originating from the 2-D VCSEL elements illuminates the target in transmission mode to obtain a hologram in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer configuration. Superresolved images of the input object above the common lens diffraction limit are generated by sequential recording of the individual holograms and numerical reconstruction of the image with the extended spatial frequency range. We have experimentally tested the approach for a microscope objective with an exact 2-D reconstruction image of the input object. The proposed approach has implementation advantages for applications in biological imaging or the microelectronic industry in which structured targets are being inspected.

Digital holographic microscopy with reduced spatial coherence for three-dimensional particle flow analysis

We investigate the use of a digital holographic microscope working in partially coherent illumination to study in three dimensions a micrometer-size particle flow. The phenomenon under investigation rapidly varies in such a way that it is necessary to record, for every camera frame, the complete holographic information for further processing. For this purpose, we implement the Fourier-transform method for optical amplitude extraction. The suspension of particles is flowing in a split-flow lateral-transport thin separation cell that is usually used to separate the species by their sizes. Details of the optical implementation are provided. Examples of reconstructed images of different particle sizes are shown, and a particle-velocity measurement technique that is based on the blurred holographic image is exploited.

Polarization microscopy by use of digital holography: application to optical-fiber birefringence measurements

We present a digital holographic microscope that permits one to image polarization state. This technique results from the coupling of digital holographic microscopy and polarization digital holography. The interference between two orthogonally polarized reference waves and the wave transmitted by a microscopic sample, magnified by a microscope objective, is recorded on a CCD camera. The off-axis geometry permits one to reconstruct separately from this single hologram two wavefronts that are used to image the object-wave Jones vector. We applied this technique to image the birefringence of a bent fiber. To evaluate the precision of the phase-difference measurement, the birefringence induced by internal stress in an optical fiber is measured and compared to the birefringence profile captured by a standard method, which had been developed to obtain high-resolution birefringence profiles of optical fibers.

Improvement in visibility of an in-focus reconstructed image in digital holography by reduction of the influence of out-of-focus objects

When a reconstruction is performed on a digital holographic image that contains small objects at different depths, diffraction that is due to out-of-focus objects disrupts the visibility of the nearby focused objects. We propose a method to substitute for focused object amplitudes other amplitudes that will reduce propagation diffraction effects when other depths are investigated. The replacement amplitudes are computed by use of an algorithm that reduces the highest spatial frequencies of the resultant image. The theoretical aspects of the method are presented, and results for simulated and experimental examples are shown.

Object characterization with refractometric digital Fourier holography

We demonstrate a digital holographic method in which two different substances in a blend are discerned. The method requires only one set of exposures and one reconstruction in the plane of focus. The phase is unwrapped by Flynn's discontinuity algorithm to produce an image of the variation of the optical distance of the illuminating wave. Objects with indices of refraction that are higher and lower than the mounting liquid are detected as regions in which the phase is increased and decreased, respectively. We also present a method for calculating the volume distribution of substrates in a sample. The method is experimentally demonstrated with crystals of NaCl and KCl.

Refractometry of microscopic objects with digital holography

Digital holography has some desirable properties for refractometry of microscopic objects since it gives phase and amplitude information of an object in all depths of focus from one set of exposures. We show that the amplitude part of the image can be used to observe how the Becke lines move between different depths of focus and hence determine whether an object has a higher or a lower index of refraction than its surrounding medium, i.e., the sign of the relief. It is also shown that one single-phase image provides an independent technique to determine the sign of relief between an object and the surrounding medium.

Partial spatial coherence effects in digital holographic microscopy with a laser source

We investigate a digital holographic microscope that permits us to modify the spatial coherence state of the sample illumination by changing the spot size of a laser beam on a rotating ground glass. Out-of-focus planes are refocused by digital holographic reconstruction with numerical implementation of the Kirchhoff-Fresnel integral. The partial coherence nature of the illumination reduces the coherent artifact noise with respect to fully coherent illumination. The investigated configuration allows the spatial coherence state to be changed without modifying the illumination level of the sample. The effect of the coherence state on the digital holographic reconstruction is theoretically and experimentally evaluated. We also show how multiple reflection interferences are limited by the use of reduced spatial coherent illumination.