The Sampling Field Sensor
Robust, high-resolution and accuracy, interferometric phase, amplitude, and polarization sensor
Challenge: Phase, the Final Frontier
Measuring the phase of the optical field at high/imaging resolutions is very challenging but critical for research and diagnostic/inspection applications.
Solution: The SFS
The SFS is the only high-resolution interferometric sensor capable of simultaneously measuring the optical phase, amplitude and polarization.
The SFS vs Other Optical Phase Sensors
The SFS
- Common-path, double-shearing, five-frame phase-shifting interferometer.
- Completely insensitive to vibrations
- The only high-resolution full-field sensor: phase, amplitude and polarization
- Compact: a camera and a custom relay lens
- Easy to integrate with other systems => used in our unique microscope
Phase-Shifting Interferometers
- Compute the phase from multiple (typically 5) images acquired with different phase shifts
- Highest (increasing with number of shifts) phase measurement accuracy and sensitivity
- Expensive, bulky and very difficult to use and integrate with other systems
Digital Holography
- Single frame, two-phase interferometers
- Sensitivity and accuracy lower than phase-shifting interferometric and higher than non-interferometric sensors.
- Vibration-insensitive because single-frame.
- Easy to use but not to integrate.
Non-Interferometric Sensors
- Different methods exploiting the limited connection between image-plane intensity and pupil-plane phase distributions
- Less sensitive/accurate than interferometric sensors.
- Very easy to use and integrate
Common-Path Field Diversity
Field Samples to Measurements
The input optical field is sampled and processed into multiple, appropriately modified copies on the focal plane array (FPA). Different FPA pixels contain different information: X and Y phase gradients, amplitude, and polarization.
Phase-Shifting Interferometry Detection
Phase-shifting interferometry is, by far, the most sensitive and accurate method of full-field detection. Its biggest downside: sensitivity to vibrations. The SFS is vibration insensitive due to its common-path, double-shearing configuration.
The distribution of different measurements on different FPA pixels (early prototype).
Quantitative phase image of an unstained/unlabeled transparent cell (pseudo-color) obtained with the SFS.
High-Resolution Full-Field Detection
Phase, Amplitude and Polarization
Completely describe a coherent optical field => full-field sensor => data is a mathematically complete representation of the imaged object. Faster and more powerful “object” analyses and decisions.
High Resolution
Full-field resolution equal to 25% of the FPA resolution ≅ theoretical limit. Through our proprietary coherent compensation (computational qMAPP), can take advantage of modern high-resolution sensors.
Robust with Easy Integration
Robust and Vibration Insensitive
Common-path configuration: insensitive to vibrations, misalignment.
Easy to Integrate with Other Systems
Compact system: camera+custom relay lens. Easy to integrate with other systems by replacing the conventional camera. Used in our phase, amplitude and polarization microscope.
An early SFS prototype built from re-purposed parts! Used in our microscope to get the cell phase image shown above.
Let’s Work Together
Microscopy technology has not evolved in its general practice for a century: it is still a generally manual, difficult to scale, process.
Our technology is uniquely capable of fully-digital, high-accuracy, quantitative microscopy of stained and unstained samples.
Through synergistic collaboration, we can solve important health screening and diagnostic challenges, benefiting humanity.
Contact Us
We’re eager to learn about your requirements and happy to tell you more about our technology.
Ithaca, NY 14850
+1 917 436 1624
info@cdei.net