The phase range extension and accuracy improvement in Fresnel biprism-based digital holography microscopy.

We report a highly stable and affordable dual-wavelength digital holographic microscopy system based on common-path geometry. A Fresnel biprism is used to create an off-axis geometry, and two diode laser sources with different wavelengths λ1 = 532 nm and λ2 = 650 nm generate the dual-wavelength compound hologram. In order to extend the measurement range, the phase distribution is obtained using a synthetic wavelength Λ1 = 2930.5 nm. Furthermore, to improve the system's temporal stability and reduce speckle noise, a shorter wavelength (Λ2 = 292.5 nm) is used. The feasibility of the proposed configuration is validated by the experimental results obtained with Molybdenum trioxide, Paramecium, and red blood cell specimens.

Exploring Intercellular Dynamics: Ultra-Weak Biophoton Emission as a Novel Indicator of Altered Cell Functions and Disease in Oligospermia Mice.

Introduction: Biophoton emission, the spontaneous release of photons from living cells, has emerged as an attractive field of research in the study of biological systems. Scientists have recently discovered that changes in biophoton emission could serve as potential indicators of pathological conditions. This intriguing phenomenon suggests that cells might communicate and interact with each other through the exchange of these faint but significant light signals. Therefore, the present study introduces intercellular relationships with biophoton release to detect normal and abnormal cell functions to further achieve cellular interactions by focusing on cell and cell arrangement in disease conditions. Methods: Twenty male mice were assigned to control and busulfan groups. Five weeks after the injection of busulfan, the testis was removed, and then the stereological techniques and TUNEL assay were applied to estimate the histopathology of the testis tissue sections. Results: The findings revealed that the ultra-weak biophoton emission in the control group was significantly lower than in the busulfan group. The oligospermia mice model showed that it significantly changed the spatial arrangement of testicular cells and notably decreased the testis volume, length of seminiferous tubules, and the number of testicular cells. The results of the TUNEL assay showed that the percentage of apoptotic cells significantly increased in the busulfan group. Conclusion: The ultra-weak biophoton emission from testis tissue was reduced in oligospermia mice. As a result, the decline of ultra-weak biophoton can indicate a change in cell arrangement, a decrease in intercellular interaction, and eventually disease.

Low-coherence quantitative differential phase-contrast microscopy using Talbot interferometry.

This paper presents a simple, cost-efficient, and highly stable quantitative differential phase-contrast (PC) microscopy based on Talbot interferometry. The proposed system is composed of an optical microscope coupled with a pair of Ronchi amplitude gratings that utilizes a light-emitting diode as a low temporal coherence light source. The quantitative differential PC images of the microscopic transparent samples are reconstructed by analyzing the deformation of moiré patterns using a phase-shifting procedure. Low temporal coherence leads to eliminating speckle noise and undesirable interferences to obtain high-quality images. The spatial phase stability of the system is investigated and compared to two other common-path interferometers. Additionally, the performance of the method is verified by the experimental results of a standard resolution test target and phase biological samples.

Lens-free digital holographic microscopy for cell imaging and tracking by Fresnel diffraction from a phase discontinuity.

In this Letter, a very simple, stable, and portable lensless digital holographic (DH) microscopy method is presented relying on the Fresnel diffraction (FD) of light from a phase discontinuity (PD). A phase plate in the transmission or a physical step in the reflection can be employed in the path of the divergent beam of a coherent light source as a component imposing the PD. The recorded diffraction pattern in the vicinity of the PD is a hologram produced by off-axis overlapping of two diffracted waves in both sides of the boundary region with adjustable fringe modulation. To validate the method, measurements are performed on the amplitude and phase specimens as well as on the dynamic processes of water evaporation and 3D tracking of floating cells. A reflective configuration of FD from a physical step can be used as a powerful platform for lensless DH microscopy using high-energy electromagnetic radiation, e.g., x-ray and UV sources for the high-resolution imaging of moving samples.

Digital speckle shearography setup to measure the field-induced strain map in piezoelectric materials.

Residual or induced strains are important factors in the performance of electronic devices, actuators, and sensors. In this paper, we report the application of digital speckle shearography to obtain the two-dimensional field-induced out-of-plane strain maps in a piezoelectric slab under a varying electric field. Both the free-standing and loaded (pinned) states are investigated. The results show field-dependent strain maps with parabolic profiles on the order of 10-4 and 10-3 in the free-standing and pinned states, respectively, in agreement with typical values for piezoelectric ceramics. This study provides a simple, non-destructive, and full-field method to characterize these materials.

Measurement of the full complex degree of coherence using Fresnel diffraction from a phase discontinuity.

A field-portable, single-shot and very simple method is presented for measuring the full complex degree of coherence (CDC) of a quasi-monochromatic Schell-model field using the Fresnel diffraction from a phase discontinuity. To validate the proposed technique, the CDC of the light emitted from an incoherent source with variable size is investigated. The results are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions of the Van Cittert-Zernike theorem. This technique is also applicable to characterize the coherence properties of sources in other spectral regions, e.g., x-rays.

Single-shot measurements by Fresnel diffraction of divergent waves from a phase plate.

Recently, Fresnel diffraction (FD) of a plane wave from phase steps has been studied and applied for precise measurements of the light wavelength, and height and refractive index of the step, by changing the angle of incidence or step height to induce phase shifts. In this study, we formulate the FD of cylindrical and spherical wavefronts as 1D and 2D divergent waves from a phase plate. Since the phase difference of the divergent wave varies continuously along the edge of the phase plate, it can be applied for single-shot measurements. It is shown that the diffracted intensity distribution is a periodic function along the lines parallel to the plate edge. The phase distribution in this direction is a linearly varying function of the position squared, with a slope dependent on the light wavelength, plate thickness and refractive index, and the radius of wavefront curvature (RWC) on the observation plane. The diffraction patterns are simulated and experimentally verified. Also, the RWC and displacement are determined as examples of applications in the experimental part of the report.

Focal length measurement based on Fresnel diffraction from a phase plate.

A method based on the Fresnel diffraction of light from the phase step is introduced for measuring effective focal length (EFL) and back focal length (BFL) of optical imaging systems. It is shown that, as a transparent plane-parallel plate is illuminated at a boundary region by a monochromatic beam of light, Fresnel diffraction occurs because of the abrupt change in phase imposed by the finite change in refractive index at the plate boundary. Variation of the incident angle in a convergent (or divergent) beam of light causes the periodic intensity along the central fringe of the diffraction pattern. The measurement of the extrema position of the intensity distribution accurately provides the EFL and BFL. The technique is easy to apply and can measure a wide range of both positive and negative focal lengths. The measuring setup can be very compact with low mechanical and optical noises. As examples of this technique, the EFLs of five different lenses are experimentally obtained. The results are quite consistent with the values indicated by the lens manufacturer.

Measurement of roughness based on the Talbot effect in reflection from rough surfaces.

In the present work, the Talbot effect of a square grating is analyzed when light is reflected from a rough surface. It is shown theoretically that the scattered light intensity in the Fresnel diffraction limit depends on statistical properties of the rough surface, the angle of incidence of the light, the grating period, and a geometric coefficient, related to the ratio of distance of the rough surface and the observation plane from the grating. At Talbot distances of the grating, the surface height difference function, in terms of multiplication of the Talbot number, the grating period, and the geometric coefficient is the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the scattering in reflection from the rough surface. If the argument of the height difference function is larger than twice the surface correlation length, the height difference function is constant for different spatial frequencies. Therefore, the square wave is reproduced with smaller contrast. The surface roughness can be obtained by measuring the contrast at different incident angles. It is also shown that the contrast measurements in both reflection and transmission, provide the refractive index of transparent samples with a rough surface. In experimental studies, the roughness of three metal standard rough surfaces are determined at different angles of incidence. Also, the refractive index of a sheet glass with a rough surface is obtained. The results are quite consistent.

Determination of the rough interface parameters using the self-imaging effect.

In this work, a linear grating is used to project a periodic light intensity distribution on a rough interface, and the near field transmitted light scattering is studied. It is shown theoretically that the intensity in the Fresnel regime depends on statistical properties of the rough interface and the light intensity period. The self-image contrast exponentially depends on the interface height-height correlation function. The correlation is obtained in terms of multiplication of the self-image number and the period of the light intensity distribution. Therefore, the roughness and the correlation length of the interface can be obtained by determining the contrast of the self-images when the light intensity period is smaller than the interface correlation length. For periods longer than twice the correlation length, the contrast measurements only provide the interface roughness. In experimental studies, the roughness of interfaces is determined by square gratings with periods much longer than the correlation lengths. The rough interfaces are prepared by roughening sheet glass by powders of different grit numbers. The results for different gratings and light wavelengths are quite consistent.

Redshift and blueshift in the spectra of lights coherently and diffusely scattered from random rough interfaces.

We show theoretically and experimentally that the spectrum of coherently scattered light from a randomly rough interface in reflection and transmission is redshifted with a shrinkage in spectral width. In reflection mode the amounts of the redshift and the shrinkage depend on interface roughness, incident angle, and the spectral width of the illuminating light. In transmission mode they also depend on the refractive indices of the surrounding media. The redshift and width shrinkage increase with decrease of the coherently scattered light intensity. This study shows that the spectrum of the diffusely scattered light is blueshifted in the specular direction and in directions with small scattering angles only in situations with appreciable intensity of the coherently scattered light. With decrease of the latter intensity the blueshift reduces and turns into redshift. Also, the redshift and blueshift decay with increase of the scattering angle. An experimental investigation has been carried out, on sheet glasses with different roughness on one side, in reflection and transmission modes. The experimental results and theoretical predictions are quite consistent.

Determination of height distribution on a rough interface by measuring the coherently transmitted or reflected light intensity.

In this work it is shown theoretically and examined experimentally that the measurement of coherently transmitted or reflected monochromatic light intensity from a randomly rough interface as a function of incident angle provides the height distribution on the interface. It is also shown that the spectrum of coherently transmitted or reflected light from a rough interface is modified and the modified spectrum yields the height distribution. The experimental results obtained by applying both methods, in transmission and reflection, on rough surfaces prepared by roughening the sheet glasses by powders of different grain sizes are quite consistent. In addition, the effect of the surrounding medium's refractive index on the roughness measurement is studied by immersing the samples into liquids of different refractive indices. Also, the application range and limitations of the introduced methods are discussed.