Hilbert phase microscopy (HPM) as an optical technique for measuring high transverse resolution quantitative phase images associated with optically transparent objects. Due to its single-shot nature, HPM is suitable for investigating rapid phenomena that take place in transparent structures such as biological cells. A preferred embodiment is used for measuring biological systems including measurements on red blood cells, while its ability to quantify dynamic processes on the millisecond scale, for example, can be illustrated with measurements on evaporating micron-size water droplets.

A method for holographic characterization of a particle contained in a sample, based on an image, or hologram, of the sample obtained by an image sensor when the sample is illuminated by a light source. The hologram is the subject of a holographic reconstruction, to obtain a reference complex image, representative of the light wave transmitted by the sample in a reconstruction plane. A holographic propagation operator is applied to the reference complex image, to obtain a plurality of secondary complex images, from which a profile is determined describing the change in an optical feature of the light wave transmuted by the sample along the axis of propagation of the light wave.

A device for acquisition of particles present in a sample includes a spatially coherent light source, an optical system, and an image sensor placed in the focal plane of the optical system. The image sensor is configured to capture an intensity image. A computational unit of the device is configured to construct a series of electromagnetic propagation matrices obtained for a plurality of defocusing offsets relative to a plane of focus of the optics. The computational unit is also configured to determine a first average focused electromagnetic matrix for the particles from the series of electromagnetic matrices, identifying at least one of the particles in the first electromagnetic matrix and storing the coordinates of said particle, and determining a second electromagnetic matrix at a distance of focus on a particle identified from the components of the series of electromagnetic matrices having the stored coordinates.

A device for monitoring a process in laser material processing, comprising a laser generating a light beam, wherein the light beam may impinge on a lens matrix disposed between the light source and a beam splitter. The lens matrix may comprise microlenses, operable to generate a matrix of light beams from the impinging light beam. Part of the matrix of light beams may be directed to a mirror in a reference arm and part may be directed to an unknown surface in a measuring arm. The reflection of these beams may be used to generate an interference signal to be evaluated.

A method and apparatus for measuring 3D refractive-index tomograms using a wavefront shaper in ultra-high speed and high precision is provided. The method includes the steps of modifying at least one of an illumination angle and a wavefront pattern of an incident ray through the wavefront shaper and leading the modified incident ray to a sample, measuring a 2D optical field, which passes through the sample, through an interferometry along at least one or more of the incident rays, and obtaining 3D refractive-index tomograms through measured information of the 2D optical field.

A method for irradiating scattering medium, including modifying a particle's response to electromagnetic radiation irradiating the particle in a scattering medium, wherein the electromagnetic radiation is scattered by the scattering medium, and modulated by the modifying, into scattered electromagnetic radiation comprising a scattered field; forming a phase conjugate field, wherein the phase conjugate field is a phase conjugate of the scattered field; and irradiating the scattering medium with the phase conjugate field, wherein the phase conjugate field forms a focus at a target defined by the particle.

The disclosed invention describes a new apparatus performing a new data acquisition for quantitative refractive index tomography. It is based on a linear scanning of the specimen, opposed to the classical approaches based on rotations of either the sample or the illumination beam, which are based on the illumination with plane waves, which orientation is successively modified in order to acquire angular information. On the contrary, the inventive apparatus and method rely on a specially shaped illumination, which provides straightforwardly an angular distribution in the illumination of the specimen. The specimen can thus be linearly scanned in the object plane in order to acquire the data set enabling tomographic reconstruction, where the different positions directly possess the information on various angles for the incoming wave vectors.

Interferometric speckle visibility spectroscopy methods, systems, and non-transitory computer readable media for recovering sample speckle field data or a speckle field pattern from an off-axis interferogram recorded by one or more sensors over an exposure time and determining sample dynamics of a sample being analyzed from speckle statistics of the speckle field data or the speckle field pattern.

An apparatus for identifying a concentration of a specific material within a first material includes an input for receiving a signal after the signal passes through the first material. The signal has at least one orthogonal function therein and the at least one orthogonal function comprises at least one of an orbital angular momentum function or a Laguerre-Gaussian function. A detector detects the at least one orthogonal function within the signal, determines the concentration of the specific material within the first material based upon the detected at least one orthogonal function and generates an indication responsive to the determination. An output provides for an output of the generated indication.

Impurities within a sample are detected by use of holographic video microscopy. The sample flows through the microscope and holographic images are generated. The holographic image is analyzed to identify regions associated with large impurities in the sample. The contribution of the particles of the sample to the holographic images is determined and the impurities are characterized.