Improved and isotropic resolution in tomographic diffractive microscopy combining sample and illumination rotation

Tomographic Diffractive Microscopy is a technique, which permits to image transparent living specimens in three dimensions without staining. It is commonly implemented in two configurations, by either rotating the sample illumination keeping the specimen fixed, or by rotating the sample using a fixed illumination. Under the first-order Born approximation, the volume of the frequency domain that can be mapped with the rotating illumination method has the shape of a “doughnut”, which exhibits a so-called “missing cone” of non-captured frequencies, responsible for the strong resolution anisotropy characteristic of transmission microscopes. When rotating the sample, the resolution is almost isotropic, but the set of captured frequencies still exhibits a missing part, the shape of which resembles that of an apple core. Furthermore, its maximal extension is reduced compared to tomography with rotating illumination. We propose various configurations for tomographic diffractive microscopy, which combine both approaches, and aim at obtaining a high and isotropic resolution. We illustrate with simulations the expected imaging performances of these configurations.     

样品转动方式对中子全息成像结果的影响

在中子全息成像实验中, 为避免透射中子干扰, 入射中子束方向与样品-探测器方向不能在一条直线上, 同时采用探测器移动结合样品转动或仅样品转动的方式, 避免探测系统的大范围移动. 因此在样品的转动过程中, 入射中子束和探测器相对于样品的位置同时发生改变, 内源全息项和内探测器全息项作为变量被记录在同一幅全息图中, 并在重建过程中相互干扰. 本文对基于中子三轴谱仪和四圆谱仪的三种不同转动方式进行了中子全息记录和重建模拟研究, 并讨论其修正方法. 结果表明, 各转动方式都可以通过适当的方法消除或减轻相关影响, 而其中基于三轴谱仪的纯样品转动方式可以使用两个探测器记录的方式, 避开入射中子束方向与样品-探测器方向不能在一条直线上的限制, 得到完整的全息图, 同时通过数据处理能基本消除相对转动造成的干扰, 达到理想的重建结果, 在条件允许的情况下应予优先采用.     

Plane-wave fluorescence tomography with adaptive finite elements

We present three-dimensional fluorescence yield tomography of a tissue phantom in a noncontact reflectance imaging setup. The method employs planar illumination with modulated light and frequency domain fluorescence measurements made on the illumination plane. An adaptive finite-element algorithm is used to handle the ill-posed and computationally demanding inverse image reconstruction problem. Tomographic images of fluorescent targets buried at 1-2 cm depths from the illumination surface demonstrate the feasibility of fluorescence tomography from reflectance tomography in clinically relevant tissue volumes.     

Single-detector polarization-sensitive optical frequency domain imaging using high-speed intra A-line polarization modulation

We demonstrate a novel high-speed polarization-sensitive optical frequency domain imaging system employing high-speed polarization modulation. Rapid and continuous polarization modulation of light prior to illumination of the sample is accomplished by shifting the frequency of one polarization eigenstate by an amount equal to one quarter of the digitization sampling frequency. This approach enables polarization-sensitive imaging with a single detection channel and overcomes artifacts that may arise from temporal variations of the birefringence in fiber-optic imaging probes and spatial variation of birefringence in the sample.     

Image formation in holographic tomography

Tomography has been applied to holographic imaging systems recently to improve the 3D imaging performance. However, there are two distinct ways to achieve this: either by rotation of the object or by rotation of the illumination beam. We provide a transfer function analysis to distinguish between these two techniques and to predict the 3D imaging performance in holographic tomography when diffraction effects are considered. The results show that the configuration of rotating the illumination beam in one direction while fixing the sample leads to different 3D imaging performance as compared to the configuration of rotating the sample. The spatial frequency cutoff is nonisotropic in the case of rotating the illumination, and a curved line of singularity is observed. Rotating of the sample, on the contrary, has more symmetry in spatial frequency coverage but has a single point of singularity. The 3D transfer function derived can be used for 3D image reconstruction.     

基于数码相机的双向反射率分布函数测量方法

除传统领域外,双向反射率分布函数(BRDF)在计算机图形学、虚拟现实等方面具有广泛的应用,但缺乏价格适中的测量工具。试验了一种基于单个数码相机的BRDF测量方法。该法综合了摄影测量学、光学、计算机图形学等学科的知识,测量装置成本低廉、易于实现,并集成于专门编制的测量程序中。测量操作过程方便、易行,测量数据可直接以视化形式输出。给出了某种油漆的测量实例,初步验证了该方法的可行性。     

Flow visualization by means of single-exposure speckle photography

A photograph of a flow field is taken under laser illumination. If the exposure is short enough, the velocity distribution in the field will be mapped on the photograph as variations in speckle contrast. These contrast variations can be converted to intensity variations by means of a simple spatial filtering technique, to give a direct picture of the velocity distribution in the flow field. A potential application of this technique to the mapping of retinal blood flow is described.     

Novel processing tools for automated doppler picture veocimetry (DPV) evaluation

A unique technique, the Doppler Picture Velocimetry (DPV), for measuring and visualizing velocities especially in hypersonic gas flows is presented. By means of a Michelson interferometer (MI) the Doppler shifted light scattered by tracers is transformed into an image showing Fizeau fringes. The image fringe distribution provides information on the Doppler frequency shift which is related to the velocity of the particles crossing a light sheet plane. To overcome former disadvantages of DPV, the optical set-up as well as the processing scheme have been improved significantly. Two schemes have been tested in recent times for fringe processing: 1) an alternative process, the Least Square Estimators (LES) and 2) an algorithm based on a technique using Fast Fourier Transformations (FFT) to examine the DPV images in the frequency domain. The new DPV algorithms now allow an automated calculation of the velocity profiles from the Doppler pictures without manual fringe tracing as it had to be done in the past. Both methods are compared by means of Mach 6 flows around a wedge and a sphere produced in the ISL high energy shock tunnel STA. TiO₂ particles are illuminated by a laser light sheet which was perpendicularly arranged to the main flow direction. Light observation via the MI from the side (90° to illumination) informs on the vertically oriented velocity through the DPV images.     

Optical diffraction tomography microscopy with transport of intensity equation using a light-emitting diode array

Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) is an effective label-free technique for quantitatively refractive index imaging, which enables long-term monitoring of the internal three-dimensional (3D) structures and molecular composition of biological cells with minimal perturbation. However, existing optical tomographic methods generally rely on interferometric configuration for phase measurement and sophisticated mechanical systems for sample rotation or beam scanning. Thereby, the measurement is suspect to phase error coming from the coherent speckle, environmental vibrations, and mechanical error during data acquisition process. To overcome these limitations, we present a new ODT technique based on non-interferometric phase retrieval and programmable illumination emitting from a light-emitting diode (LED) array. The experimental system is built based on a traditional bright field microscope, with the light source replaced by a programmable LED array, which provides angle-variable quasi-monochromatic illumination with an angular coverage of ±37 degrees in both x and y directions (corresponding to an illumination numerical aperture of ∼0.6). Transport of intensity equation (TIE) is utilized to recover the phase at different illumination angles, and the refractive index distribution is reconstructed based on the ODT framework under first Rytov approximation. The missing-cone problem in ODT is addressed by using the iterative non-negative constraint algorithm, and the misalignment of the LED array is further numerically corrected to improve the accuracy of refractive index quantification. Experiments on polystyrene beads and thick biological specimens show that the proposed approach allows accurate refractive index reconstruction while greatly reduced the system complexity and environmental sensitivity compared to conventional interferometric ODT approaches.     

Stimulated light emission and inelastic scattering by a classical linear system of rotating particles

The rotational dynamics of particles subject to external illumination is found to produce light amplification and inelastic scattering at high rotation velocities. Light emission at frequencies shifted with respect to the incident light by twice the rotation frequency dominates over elastic scattering within a wide range of light and rotation frequencies. Remarkably, net amplification of the incident light is produced in this classical linear system via stimulated emission. Large optically induced acceleration rates are predicted in vacuum accompanied by moderate heating of the particle, thus supporting the possibility of observing these effects under extreme rotation conditions.     

Woodpile结构三维光子晶体中的四端口通道下载滤波器

基于三维光子晶体空间完全带隙的特性,本文在实验上构建了一种由非共面的两个波导和一个立体微腔组成的四端口通道下载滤波器。讨论了球体、正方体、长方体微腔滤波器的选频特性,以及连续旋转长方体微腔时,其输出频率的变化。研究结果表明,无论是对称型还是非对称型微腔,都可以较好地实现选频。提高微腔的不对称性,共振输出频率随之发生移动,说明改变微腔的对称性,可以有效调节滤波器的选频特性。连续旋转非对称型长方体微腔,输出频率会随之发生明显的移动,如果引入有效调节机制,可以产生连续调节输出频率的效果。该研究结果给多端口选择性输出空间滤波器的设计提供了新的思路,为光学器件集成化的设计提供了重要的理论参考。     

Ring-resonator-based frequency-domain optical activity measurements of a chiral liquid

Chiral liquids rotate the plane of polarization of linearly polarized light and are therefore optically active. Here we show that optical rotation can be observed in the frequency domain. A chiral liquid introduced in a fiber-loop ring resonator that supports left and right circularly polarized modes gives rise to relative frequency shifts that are a direct measure of the liquid's circular birefringence and hence of its optical activity. The effect is in principle not diminished if the circumference of the ring is reduced. The technique is similarly applicable to refractive index and linear birefringence measurements.     

X-ray microtomography in biology

Progress in high-resolution X-ray microtomography has provided us with a practical approach to determining three-dimensional (3D) structures of opaque samples at micrometer to submicrometer resolution. In this review, we give an introduction to hard X-ray microtomography and its application to the visualization of 3D structures of biological soft tissues. Practical aspects of sample preparation, handling, data collection, 3D reconstruction, and structure analysis are described. Furthermore, different sample contrasting methods are approached in detail. Examples of microtomographic studies are overviewed to present an outline of biological applications of X-ray microtomography. We also provide perspectives of biological microtomography as the convergence of sciences in X-ray optics, biology, and structural analysis.     

Three-dimensional scanning force/tunneling spectroscopy at room temperature

We simultaneously measured the force and tunneling current in three-dimensional (3D) space on the Si(111)-(7 × 7) surface using scanning force/tunneling microscopy at room temperature. The observables, the frequency shift and the time-averaged tunneling current were converted to the physical quantities of interest, i.e. the interaction force and the instantaneous tunneling current. Using the same tip, the local density of states (LDOS) was mapped on the same surface area at constant height by measuring the time-averaged tunneling current as a function of the bias voltage at every lateral position. LDOS images at negative sample voltages indicate that the tip apex is covered with Si atoms, which is consistent with the Si-Si covalent bonding mechanism for AFM imaging. A measurement technique for 3D force/current mapping and LDOS imaging on the equivalent surface area using the same tip was thus demonstrated.     

Quantum phase transitions in the sub-Ohmic spin-boson model: failure of the quantum-classical mapping

The effective theories for many quantum phase transitions can be mapped onto those of classical transitions. Here we show that the naive mapping fails for the sub-Ohmic spin-boson model which describes a two-level system coupled to a bosonic bath with power-law spectral density, J(omega) proportional, variantomega(s). Using an epsilon expansion we prove that this model has a quantum transition controlled by an interacting fixed point at small s, and support this by numerical calculations. In contrast, the corresponding classical long-range Ising model is known to display mean-field transition behavior for 0 < s < 1/2, controlled by a noninteracting fixed point. The failure of the quantum-classical mapping is argued to arise from the long-ranged interaction in imaginary time in the quantum model.     

非完整映射理论与刚体定点转动的几何描述

利用非完整映射方法,从一个已知Riemann空间构造一个嵌入其中的Riemann-Cartan空间.作为特例,研究从Euclidean空间构造Weitzenbock空间的方法.基于dAlembert-Lagrange原理和非完整映射,将一个Riemann空间的测地线对应于另一个Riemann-Cartan空间的自平行线.把这种非完整映射理论应用到刚体定点转动问题上,得到了刚体运动的欧拉方程是欧拉角描述的Riemann位形空间的测地线方程,而在刚体角速度对应的准坐标空间上是常挠率Riemann-Cartan空间的自平行线方程的结论. 关键词： 欧拉角 非完整映射 Riemann-Cartan空间 自平行线     

C(60) molecular bearings and the phenomenon of nanomapping

Inspired by suggestions of C(60) "nanobearings," we have measured sliding friction on fixed and rotating C(60) layers to explore whether a lubricating effect is present. We refer to this general phenomenon as "nanomapping," whereby macroscopic attributes are mapped in a one on one fashion to nanoscale entities. Our measurements are the first to directly link friction to a documented molecular rotation state. Friction is, however, observed to be higher for rotating layers, in defiance of the ball-bearing analogy. Thus, no direct mapping of macro- to nanoscale attributes can be established.     

三维人脸测量与分割系统研究

三维人脸的测量与分割有着广泛的应用需求,是目前重要的研究方向,但三维人脸数据的庞大、无序等问题制约了其快速发展。首先开发了基于结构光方法的三维人脸测量系统,获得以点云形式存储的高精度三维人脸数据。其次,采用保角变换对三维人脸数据进行了预处理,并采用二维卷积神经网络分割结合三维反映射的思路,实现了三维人脸的分割,解决了三维数据的无序性以及旋转性,降低了三维数据分割的时间消耗。实验结果表明,本文提出的三维人脸测量系统精度可达0.5 mm,三维分割的平均交并比可达0.78,二维分割结合三维反映射的整体效率明显高于直接进行三维分割的效率。     

An electro-optic holographic technique for the measurement of the components of the strain tensor on three-dimensional object surfaces

An electro-optic holographic technique (also called electronic speckle pattern interferometry or TV holography) for the measurement of displacements and strains on three-dimensional object surfaces is presented. The three components of the displacement vector, in a fixed coordinate system, are separated using four independent illumination beams. The interferometric phase for each illumination beam is extracted using the phase stepping technique. Displacements in the fixed coordinate system are projected on to the object surface using the tensor transformation law. Equations for the computation of surface strains using the projected displacements and the surface geometry are developed. The technique is applied for the measurement of strains on the surface of a cylindrical vessel subjected to internal pressure.     

E.S.R. line-narrowing induced by light illumination in the cyclopentanyl radical trapped in a glassy matrix at 77 K

Unusual line-narrowing was found in the β-cyclopentanyl radical trapped in a glassy matrix at 77 K during exposure of the sample to red light, although the bulk temperature of the sample was unchanged by this light illumination. The infra-red band corresponding to the C-H stretching frequency of the radical seemed to be effective in this narrowing. It was also found that the narrowing reached a stationary state about 20 min after the light was turned on. Quantitative investigation of this narrowing indicates that agitation induced photodynamically by this illumination is equivalent to a thermal agitation in a sample which is in equilibrium at 50° higher. Plausible sources of this phenomenon are discussed.