High-Sensitivity, High-Throughput Double Sagnac Lateral Shearing Quantitative Phase Microscopy and Tomography with Pseudo-Thermal Illumination

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Goclowski, Pawel, Trusiak, Maciej, Ahluwalia, Balpreet S., Ahmad, Azeem
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Goclowski, Pawel
Trusiak, Maciej
Ahluwalia, Balpreet S.
Ahmad, Azeem
author_facet Goclowski, Pawel
Trusiak, Maciej
Ahluwalia, Balpreet S.
Ahmad, Azeem
contents Quantitative phase microscopy (QPM) enables label-free measurement of local optical path length variations, providing critical insight into the structure and dynamics of transparent biological specimens. Here, a highly sensitive lateral shearing QPM (LS-QPM) system is presented, based on a novel double Sagnac common-path interferometric configuration combined with pseudo-thermal illumination. The pseudo-thermal light source plays a central role in enhancing spatial phase sensitivity by suppressing coherent noise and speckle artifacts, while maintaining sufficient temporal coherence to generate high-density interference fringes, thereby enabling robust single-shot phase retrieval. In addition, the double Sagnac architecture introduces an inherently stable common-path geometry, significantly enhancing temporal phase stability. Unlike conventional quadriwave lateral shearing interferometry (QWLSI)-based QPM systems, which typically suffer from a trade-off between spatial resolution and field of view (FOV), the proposed approach enables simultaneous achievement of diffraction-limited resolution and a large FOV. Experimental validation using calibrated polystyrene beads demonstrates accurate and spatially uniform phase reconstruction across the entire imaging area. Further, the system's capability for biological imaging is demonstrated through experiments on fixed and live HeLa cells, where subcellular features and dynamic processes are captured in a label-free manner. Furthermore, volumetric imaging of embedded bead samples highlights the potential of the approach for three-dimensional phase tomography. The lateral shearing mechanism, analogous to differential interference contrast (DIC), improves robustness to multiple scattering, indicating strong potential for future applications in imaging thick and heterogeneous samples.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_04297
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle High-Sensitivity, High-Throughput Double Sagnac Lateral Shearing Quantitative Phase Microscopy and Tomography with Pseudo-Thermal Illumination
Goclowski, Pawel
Trusiak, Maciej
Ahluwalia, Balpreet S.
Ahmad, Azeem
Optics
Quantitative phase microscopy (QPM) enables label-free measurement of local optical path length variations, providing critical insight into the structure and dynamics of transparent biological specimens. Here, a highly sensitive lateral shearing QPM (LS-QPM) system is presented, based on a novel double Sagnac common-path interferometric configuration combined with pseudo-thermal illumination. The pseudo-thermal light source plays a central role in enhancing spatial phase sensitivity by suppressing coherent noise and speckle artifacts, while maintaining sufficient temporal coherence to generate high-density interference fringes, thereby enabling robust single-shot phase retrieval. In addition, the double Sagnac architecture introduces an inherently stable common-path geometry, significantly enhancing temporal phase stability. Unlike conventional quadriwave lateral shearing interferometry (QWLSI)-based QPM systems, which typically suffer from a trade-off between spatial resolution and field of view (FOV), the proposed approach enables simultaneous achievement of diffraction-limited resolution and a large FOV. Experimental validation using calibrated polystyrene beads demonstrates accurate and spatially uniform phase reconstruction across the entire imaging area. Further, the system's capability for biological imaging is demonstrated through experiments on fixed and live HeLa cells, where subcellular features and dynamic processes are captured in a label-free manner. Furthermore, volumetric imaging of embedded bead samples highlights the potential of the approach for three-dimensional phase tomography. The lateral shearing mechanism, analogous to differential interference contrast (DIC), improves robustness to multiple scattering, indicating strong potential for future applications in imaging thick and heterogeneous samples.
title High-Sensitivity, High-Throughput Double Sagnac Lateral Shearing Quantitative Phase Microscopy and Tomography with Pseudo-Thermal Illumination
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.04297