Differential interference contrast microscopy, also called Nomarski interference contrast or Nomarski microscopy, is an optical microscopy technique used to enhance the contrast in unstained, transpar
Micrasterias furcata imaged in transmitted DIC microscopy
Laser-induced optical damage in LiNbO3 under 150× Nomarski microscopy
DIC images with different offset phases φ0
Partially developed photoresist in Nomarski DIC
Phase-contrast microscopy
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Phase-contrast microscopy is an optical microscopy technique that converts phase shifts in light passing through a transparent specimen to brightness changes in the image. Phase shifts themselves are
Differential interference contrast microscopy
…complex optical system produces an image with the object appearing black to white on a grey background. This image is similar to that obtained by phase-contrast microscopy, but without the bright diffraction halo. The technique was invented by Francis Hughes Smith. The "Smith DIK" was produced by Ernst Leitz Wetzlar in…
A phase-contrast microscope
The same cells imaged with traditional bright-field microscopy (left), and with phase-contrast microscopy (right)
S. cerevisiae cells imaged by DIC microscopy
A quantitative phase-contrast microscopy image of cells in culture. The height and color of an image point correspond to the optical thickness, which only depends on the object's thickness and the relative refractive index. The volume of an object can thus be determined when the difference in refractive index between the object and the surrounding media is known.