Self-compensating quantitative differential interference contrast microscopy imaging system using liquid crystal shearing assembly

Abstract

A quantitative differential interference contrast microscopy (DICM) using a liquid crystal shearing assembly (LCSA) is proposed and demonstrated experimentally. Differential interference contrast (DIC) imaging with arbitrary shearing amount and different shearing direction can be implemented by changing the driving voltage applied to the liquid crystal without mechanical devices. Moreover, by combining a quarter-wave plate and a mirror, not only the shearing amount is enlarged, but also the aberration and the additional phase shift induced by the refractive index difference between ordinary and extraordinary light can be compensated. Using the proposed LCSA/DICM system, we implement DIC imaging of a polystyrene microsphere crown and the quantitative differential phase measurement of an oral epithelial cell.