摘要 |
A linearly polarized light is used to probe the detailed structure of a specimen. A reference light is also generated whose amplitude matches the amplitude of the diffracted light from the specimen. The reference light could either be generated from the light source itself as it is reflected off from a mirror through a light attenuator, or could as well be generated off from the reflected/transmitted light from/through the specimen passing through a light attenuator. The light from the specimen is retarded by a quarter-wave with respect to the reference light and the two lights are then passed through another polarizer/analyzer which allows the reference light and the diffracted light from the specimen to pass through while removing the background light. The diffracted light from the specimen, which carries the phase information of the underlying specimen's structure, is modulated by the reference light. The modulation is then recorded on an image sensor such as CCD. Should the specimen have any paramagnetic property, a magnetic gradient generator is employed to accentuate the image details further. The invention thus could be used to diagnosis a disease such as malaria due to paramagnetic and birefringence property of Hemozoin, the malaria pigment.
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