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
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.
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
Phase-contrast microscopy
…of the phase-contrast microscope has led to a number of subsequent phase-imaging methods. In 1952, Georges Nomarski patented what is today known as differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy. It enhances contrast by creating artificial shadows, as if the object is illuminated from the side. But DIC microscopy is unsuitable when the object…
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