A catadioptric high-aperture optical element includes a substrate made of a transparent material; and a lens formed on the substrate. The lens includes, plural refractive features formed on a central portion of the lens, and plural reflective features formed on a ring portion of the lens. The plural refractive features are shaped to refract light incoming from the substrate and the plural reflective features are shaped to achieve total internal reflections with the light incoming from the substrate.

A refractive index distribution estimating system includes an illumination optical system configured to illuminate a sample, an imaging optical system configured to form an optical sample image, an image sensor configured to capture optical images of the sample, and a processor configured to reconstruct a refractive index distribution of the sample from images. The processor performs processing including the steps of: estimating the sample; calculating the estimated sample image from a plurality of first wavefronts emanating from a plurality of modeled light sources; optimizing a refractive index distribution of the estimated sample from a plurality of second wavefronts after the first wavefronts pass through the estimated sample, the captured image, and the image of the estimated sample; updating the estimation sample by repeating calculation of the estimated sample image and optimization of the refractive index distribution of the estimated sample; and reconstructing and outputting a structure of the estimated sample.

A high-illumination numerical aperture-based large field-of-view high-resolution microimaging device, and a method for iterative reconstruction, the device comprising an LED array (1), a stage (2), a condenser (3), a microscopic objective (5), a tube lens (6), and a camera (7), the LED array (1) being arranged on the forward focal plane of the condenser (3). Light emitted by the i-th lit LED unit (8) of the LED array (1) passes through the condenser (3) and converges to become parallel light illuminating a specimen (4) to be examined, which is placed on the stage (2); part of the diffracted light passing through the specimen (4) is collected by the microscopic objective (5), converged by the tube lens (6), and reaches the imaging plane of the camera (7), forming an intensity image recorded by the camera (1). The present device and method ensure controllable programming of the illumination direction, while also ensuring an illumination-numerical-aperture up to 1.20 and thus achieving a reconstruction resolution up to 0.15 μm.

A device and method for observing an object, in particular a biological object includes a light source able to illuminate a sample. Under the effect of the illumination, the object emits back-scattered radiation that propagates to a screen, the area of which is larger than 100 cm.sup.2. The projection of the back-scattered radiation onto the screen forms an image representative of the back-scattered radiation, called a scattergram. An image sensor allows an image representative of the scattergram formed on the screen to be acquired.

A laser-based manufacturing system is disclosed for fabricating non-planar three-dimensional layers. The system may have a laser for producing a laser beam with a plurality of optical wavelengths. An optically dispersive element may be used for receiving the laser beam and splitting the beam into a plurality of distinct beam components, wherein each beam component has spatially separated optical spectral components. A phase mask may be used which is configured to receive at least one of the beam components emerging from the dispersive element and to create a modified beam. One or more focusing elements may then be used to receive the modified beam emerging from the phase mask and to focus the modified beam into a non-planar light sheet for use in fabricating a part.

An observation apparatus includes: a stage on which a container accommodating a specimen is mounted; a light source generating illumination light emitted in an upward direction from below the specimen on a specimen placement surface; a light-collecting lens disposed parallel to the surface and collecting the light; a diffusion plate disposed between the lens and the surface, parallel to the surface, and diffusing the light collected by the lens; an objective optical system disposed below the stage and collecting light passing through the stage from thereabove; and an image-capturing optical system capturing, below the specimen, transmitted light, which is the light emitted from the source, reflected above the specimen, transmitted through the specimen, and collected by the objective optical system, wherein the source is positioned so that an optical axis thereof is shifted from an optical axis of the lens in a direction away from the image-capturing optical system.

An inverted microscope system provided with a transillumination subsystem that illuminates a sample includes: an eyepiece lens; an objective; a tube lens; a projection device, disposed below the objective, that projects a projected image based on projected image data onto an image plane where an optical image is formed; a first modulation element included in the transillumination subsystem; a second modulation element disposed between the objective and the tube lens; and a processor and a memory, the processor being configured to perform the following steps: generating an analysis result that specifies a candidate cell that is a reproductive cell suitable for fertilization, based on at least the digital image data acquired by the imaging device; and generating the projected image data based on the generated analysis result, wherein the projected image includes a first assisting image that specifies the candidate cell as an assisting image that assists with micro-insemination.

An observation apparatus including: a light-source that emits illumination light and excitation light upward from below a specimen; and an image-capturing optical system having an objective lens that focuses, below the specimen, transmitted light, which is the illumination light that is emitted from the light-source, that is reflected above the specimen, and that has passed through the specimen, and fluorescence that is generated in the specimen that has been irradiated with the excitation light emitted from the light-source, wherein the light-source is disposed radially outside the objective lens.

Object interference in biological samples generated by lateral shearing interference microscopes is addressed by a shearing microscope slide comprising a periodic structure having alternating reference and sample regions. In some embodiments, the reference regions are configured to provide references that remove sample overlap in a sheared microscopic measurement. A system for generating sheared microscopic measurements is also provided that comprises an inlet configured to receive a sample material, an outlet configured to release a portion of the sample material, and a periodic structure having a plurality of interleaved reference and sample channels. In some cases, the sample channels are configured to accommodate a flow of sample material from the inlet to the outlet and the reference channels are configured to provide references that remove sample overlap in a sheared microscopic measurement.

A system comprising: a high index dielectric configured to: a) create a bi-periodic interference pattern of two standing sinusoidal waves on illumination by two pairs of counter-propagating sinusoidal light beams at different incident angles, wherein the incident angles are selected in accordance with the index of refraction of the high index dielectric to i) to 5 determine the spatial frequency of each counter-propagating light beam pair, and ii) cause total internal reflection, and b) generate, from the bi-periodic interference pattern, an evanescent bi-periodic standing sinusoidal wave; a light source configured to illuminate the high index dielectric with the two pairs of counter-propagating sinusoidal light beams at the different incident angles and thereby illuminate a fluorescing object positioned at the surface of the high index dielectric with the generated evanescent bi-periodic standing sinusoidal wave; and one or more delay lines configured to independently modify the initial phase of each counter-propagating light beam pair.