Phase-Contrast Microscopy for Mineralogy

Halo-free Phase Contrast Microscopy

We present a new approach for retrieving halo-free phase contrast microscopy (hfPC) images by upgrading the conventional PC microscope with an external interferometric module, which generates sufficient data for reversing the halo artifact. Acquiring four independent intensity images, our approach first measures haloed phase maps of the sample. We solve for the halo-free sample transmission fun...

Some applications of phase-contrast microscopy.

Phase-contrast microscopy of the primate retina.

The study of hematoxylin and eosin stained thick sections (15 microns) of the primate retina with the phase-contrast microscope provided a means for the selective demonstration of many cellular structures that could not be resolved with the same degree of detail which was possible when bright-field microscopy was used, or when phase-contrast microscopy was employed to examine unstained material...

X-ray phase-contrast microscopy and microtomography.

In-line phase contrast enables weakly absorbing specimens to be imaged successfully with x-rays, and greatly enhances the visibility of fine scale structure in more strongly absorbing specimens. This type of phase contrast requires a spatially coherent beam, a condition that can be met by a microfocus x-ray source. We have developed an x-ray microscope, based on such a source, which is capable ...

Principles of Phase Contrast (Electron) Microscopy

In phase-contrast light and electron microscopy, one exploits the wave properties of photons and electrons respectively. The principles of imaging with waves are the realm of “Fourier Optics”. As a very first experiment (“Gedankenexperiment”), let us think back to days when we – as children – would focus the (parallel) light waves of the (far away) sun on a piece of paper in order to set it ali...