Color-coded LED microscopy for multi-contrast and quantitative phase-gradient imaging.

We present a multi-contrast microscope based on color-coded illumination and computation. A programmable three-color light-emitting diode (LED) array illuminates a specimen, in which each color corresponds to a different illumination angle. A single color image sensor records light transmitted through the specimen, and images at each color channel are then separated and utilized to obtain bright-field, dark-field, and differential phase contrast (DPC) images simultaneously.

Frequency- and spectrally-encoded confocal microscopy.

We describe a three-dimensional microscopy technique based on spectral and frequency encoding. The method employs a wavelength-swept laser to illuminate a specimen with a spectrally-dispersed line focus that sweeps over the specimen in time. The spatial information along each spectral line is further mapped into different modulation frequencies.

Spectrally encoded slit confocal microscopy using a wavelength-swept laser.

We present an implementation of spectrally encoded slit confocal microscopy. The method employs a rapid wavelength-swept laser as the light source and illuminates a specimen with a line focus that scans through the specimen as the wavelength sweeps. The reflected light from the specimen is imaged with a stationary line scan camera, in which the finite pixel height serves as a slit aperture.