We present a dual-wavelength external holographic microscopy module for quantitative phase imaging of 3D structures with extended thickness range. This is done by simultaneous acquisition of two off-axis interferograms, each at a different wavelength, and generation of a synthetic wavelength, which is larger than the sample optical thickness, allowing two-wavelength unwrapping. The simultaneous...

We have shown that when sharply focusing a linearly polarized optical vortex with topological charge 2, in the near-axis region of focal plane, not only does reverse energy flow (the negative on-axis projection Poynting vector) occur, but also right-handed circular polariza-tion light. Moreover, due to spin-orbital angular momentum conversion, polarization vector and transverse rotate around ax...

I’hc Precision Optical Intcrfcromctcr in Space (POIN’1’S) is a free flying, space-hascd, as~romctric i ntc.rfcrmnc.try mission cmplo ying an inslrumc.nt with two 2-nvclcr bascl inc, intcrfcromctcrs whose baselines form an angle of 90°~ 3°. POIN’1’S will measure the angular clislancc. bclwccn two stars roughly 90° aparl to a precision of 5 microarcscconds @as). POIN”l’S is currently unrlcr joint...

References [1] West MJ. New stereological methods for counting neurons. Analysis of cell death in the trochlear nucleus of the chick embryo: calibration of the optical dissector counting method reveals systematic bias. Differential tissue shrinkage and compression in the z-axis: implications for optical dissector counting in vibratome, plastic and cryosections. Use of cryostat sections from sna...

The statistical properties of speckles in paraxial optical systems depend on the system parameters. In particular, the speckle orientation and the lateral dependence (x and y) of the longitudinal speckle size can vary significantly. For example, the off-axis longitudinal correlation length remains equal to the on-axis size for speckles in a Fourier transform system, while it decreases dramatica...

We present compact, portable and inexpensive interferometric systems for obtaining highly stable, easy-to-align holograms under low-coherence illumination, and use them for quantitative, label-free imaging of live cells and transparent elements with nano-scale thickness. OCIS codes: (090.1995) Digital holography; (090.2880) Holographic interferometry; (180.3170) Interference microscopy. Digital...

Based on the flexibilities of light beam propagation in three dimensions, we propose an improved N-port optical quasi-circulator by using a pair of orthogonal holographic spatial- and polarization- modules. All optical elements are located in parallel planes that are perpendicular to the optical axis. The number of optical elements is decreased, and a higher performance optical quasi-circulator...

We report the results of studies of the torsion effect on the optical birefringence in LiNbO(3) crystals. We found that the twisting of those crystals causes a birefringence distribution revealing nontrivial peculiarities. In particular, they have a special point at the center of the cross section perpendicular to the torsion axis where the zero birefringence value occurs. It has also been asce...

We have studied the transverse and axial equilibrium positions of dielectric micro-spheres trapped in a single-beam gradient optical trap and exposed to an increasing fluid flow transverse to the trapping beam axis. It is demonstrated that the axial equilibrium position of a trapped micro-sphere is a function of its transverse position in the trapping beam. Moreover, although the applied drag-f...

We report on the generation of mono- and polychromatic optical phase singularities from micron-sized birefringent droplets. This is done experimentally by using liquid crystal droplets whose three dimensional architecture of the optical axis is controlled within the bulk by surfactant agents. Because of its microscopic size these optical vortex generators are optically trapped and manipulated a...