Single-shot quantitative birefringence microscopy for imaging birefringence parameters

A method for realizing 2D single-shot measurements of birefringence parameters (including both retardation and optic axis orientation) of anisotropic materials using a simple recording setup and an efficient processing algorithm is proposed. The recording setup can be built simply by inserting a circular polarizer and a polarization beam splitter, respectively, in the object path and reference path of a conventional off-axis holographic imaging system, with no need for other adjustments. An algorithm for quantitatively retrieving the birefringence parameters from one single-shot hologram is proposed and demonstrated, in which a new quantity describing the birefringence, called complex birefringence parameter, is introduced, and a set of formulas used to extract the birefringence parameters is derived. Some experimental results are given for demonstrating the feasibility of the method that reveal that the method may provide another effective approach for investigating the birefringence properties of dynamic anisotropic materials, especially the birefringence induced by ultrafast pulse lasers. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America

提出了一种利用简单的记录装置和高效的处理算法实现各向异性材料双折射参数（包括延迟量和光轴取向）二维单次测量的方法。该记录装置可以通过在传统离轴全息成像系统的物光路和参考光路中分别插入一个圆偏振器和一个偏振分束器来简单搭建，无需其他调整。提出并演示了一种从单次拍摄的全息图中定量提取双折射参数的算法，其中引入了一个描述双折射的新量，称为复双折射参数，并推导了一组用于提取双折射参数的公式。给出了一些实验结果以证明该方法的可行性，这些结果表明该方法可能为研究动态各向异性材料的双折射特性，特别是超快脉冲激光诱导的双折射，提供了另一种有效的途径。（C）2019美国光学学会