Engineering Commons^™

Quantitative Carré Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy To Assess Phase And Amplitude, Donald D. Duncan, David G. Fischer, Amanda Dayton, Scott A. Prahl

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present a method of using an unmodified differential interference contrast microscope to acquire quantitative information on scatter and absorption of thin tissue samples. A simple calibration process is discussed that uses a standard optical wedge. Subsequently, we present a phase-stepping procedure for acquiring phase gradient information exclusive of absorption effects. The procedure results in two-dimensional maps of the local angular (polar and azimuthal) ray deviation. We demonstrate the calibration process, discuss details of the phase-stepping algorithm, and present representative results for a porcine skin sample.