Quantum Weak Value Enabled Quantitative Phase Imaging

Abstract

AbstractQuantitative phase imaging (QPI) has been a powerful approach in bioimaging because it can protect specimens from staining and quantify important physical properties of biological specimen, such as local thickness and refractive index. Here, a simple mechanism is proposed to implement QPI based on the quantum weak‐value theory. Two weak values are employed. One is momentum weak value, which inherently gives the phase gradient of the cells and tissues, and the other is polarization weak value leading to the biased imaging. Following the essence of weak value amplification in precision metrology, the weak value can also enhance the contrast in imaging. By combining two converse bias images and a phase gradient intensity image to capture phase gradient data, the original phase of the specimen can be quantitatively reconstructed. A proof‐of‐principle experiment is conducted by imaging the phase targets and unstained Paramecium cells. The ability to capture quantitative phase data is validated through imaging various samples with a phase resolution, demonstrating height deviations of less than 10 nm compared to atomic force microscopy (AFM). This work proposes weak‐value‐based QPI that possess the potential for improving the measurement precision and provides deep insights into physics and applications of weak value.