Abstract: An apparatus for measuring through optical means temporally resolved, optical properties, and/or phenotypes, linked to cellular homeostasis. Those temporal measurements enable the detection of cell regulation through various channels linked to homeostasis, in order to assess cell viability or early cell death through rapid diagnostic.

Abstract: The techniques, apparatus, material and systems are described for a portable camera device which can be attached to the camera port of a conventional transmission or reflection microscope for complex wave front analysis. At least one holographic element (BS, grating) splits the beam (s) containing the sample information in two beams (r,o) and filters (r?, o?) them. The proposed invention has a relaxed alignment sensitivity to displacement of the beam coming from the microscope. Besides since it compensates the coherence plane tilt angle between reference and object arms, it allows for creating high-visibility interference over the entire field of view. The full-field off-axis holograms provide the whole sample information.

Abstract: The disclosed invention describes a new apparatus performing a new data acquisition for quantitative refractive index tomography. It is based on a linear scanning of the specimen, opposed to the classical approaches based on rotations of either the sample or the illumination beam, which are based on the illumination with plane waves, which orientation is successively modified in order to acquire angular information. On the contrary, the inventive apparatus and method rely on a specially shaped illumination, which provides straightforwardly an angular distribution in the illumination of the specimen. The specimen can thus be linearly scanned in the object plane in order to acquire the data set enabling tomographic reconstruction, where the different positions directly possess the information on various angles for the incoming wave vectors.

Abstract: The disclosed invention describes a new apparatus performing a new data acquisition for quantitative refractive index tomography. It is based on a linear scanning of the specimen, opposed to the classical approaches based on rotations of either the sample or the illumination beam, which are based on the illumination with plane waves, which orientation is successively modified in order to acquire angular information. On the contrary, the inventive apparatus and method rely on a specially shaped illumination, which provides straightforwardly an angular distribution in the illumination of the specimen. The specimen can thus be linearly scanned in the object plane in order to acquire the data set enabling tomographic reconstruction, where the different positions directly possess the information on various angles for the incoming wave vectors.

Abstract: The techniques, apparatus, material and systems are described for a portable camera device which can be attached to the camera port of a conventional transmission or reflection microscope for complex wave front analysis. At least one holographic element (BS, grating) splits the beam (s) containing the sample information in two beams (r,o) and filters (r?, o?) them. The proposed invention has a relaxed alignment sensitivity to displacement of the beam coming from the microscope. Besides since it compensates the coherence plane tilt angle between reference and object arms, it allows for creating high-visibility interference over the entire field of view. The full-field off-axis holograms provide the whole sample information.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring through optical means temporally resolved, optical properties, and/or phenotypes, linked to cellular homeostasis. Those temporal measurements enable the detection of cell regulation through various channels linked to homeostasis, in order to assess cell viability or early cell death through rapid diagnostic.

Abstract: A method for measuring through optical means temporally resolved, optical properties, and/or phenotypes that are linked to cellular homeostasis. Those temporal measurements enable the detection of cell regulation through various channels linked to homeostasis, in order to monitor cell viability.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method and its associated apparatus to retrieve the amplitude and, especially, the phase of nonlinear electromagnetic waves. The application field of the present invention is optical imaging. A sample is probed by coherent electromagnetic radiation, and by a nonlinear interaction such as harmonic generation a nonlinear object wave is emitted. A nonlinear reference wave is generated by interaction of the same nature with the coherent electromagnetic radiation, and an interference between the nonlinear object wave and the nonlinear reference wave is sensed by a detector array. As an example, the technique makes possible real-time nanometric localization and tracking of nonlinear field emitters, such as, but not limited to, nanoparticles.

Abstract: A method for imaging a microscopic object with improved resolution including the steps of measuring a complex wavefield scattered by the microscopic object with an instrument or microscope, the complex wavefield being represented by phase and amplitude or by real and imaginary parts; and computing an image of the microscopic object with a resolution better than given by the Abbe diffraction limit, including deconvolving the complex wavefield scattered by the microscopic object with a complex coherent transfer function (CTF) applied to the complex wavefield.

Abstract: The disclosed invention describes a new apparatus performing a new data acquisition for quantitative refractive index tomography. It is based on a linear scanning of the specimen, opposed to the classical approaches based on rotations of either the sample or the illumination beam, which are based on the illumination with plane waves, which orientation is successively modified in order to acquire angular information. On the contrary, the inventive apparatus and method rely on a specially shaped illumination, which provides straightforwardly an angular distribution in the illumination of the specimen. The specimen can thus be linearly scanned in the object plane in order to acquire the data set enabling tomographic reconstruction, where the different positions directly possess the information on various angles for the incoming wave vectors.

Abstract: Apparatus and method are provided for monitoring and measuring matter and energy fluxes by use of devices able to detect refractive index changes. In one aspect, apparatus use an interference between two electromagnetic radiations in order to provide high sensitivity, enabling fluxes monitoring at the microscopic scale, by measuring phase changes or Optical Path Length (OPL) changes. In one aspect, methods are provided for monitoring and measuring the electrical activity of a biological cells, simultaneously on several cells, without use of electrodes and contrast agents.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring through optical means temporally resolved, optical properties, and/or phenotypes, linked to cellular homeostasis. Those temporal measurements enable the detection of cell regulation through various channels linked to homeostasis, in order to assess cell viability or early cell death through rapid diagnostic.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method to improve the image resolution of a microscope. This improvement is based on the mathematical processing of the complex field computed from the measurements with a microscope of the wave emitted or scattered by the specimen. This wave is, in a preferred embodiment, electromagnetic or optical for an optical microscope, but can be also of different kind like acoustical or matter waves. The disclosed invention makes use of the quantitative phase microscopy techniques known in the sate of the art or to be invented.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method and an apparatus to compute a complex wavefield, referred to as the object wave o, by means of measuring the intensity signal resulting from the interference of the said object wave with a second wave termed the reference wave. The second wave r is assumed to have some non-vanishing mutual coherence with the said object wave o. The reference wave can be obtained from a source or from the object wave itself. The wave may be emitted from sources of variable degree of coherence and can be scattered waves, but also light-emitting molecules, matter waves such as electron beams or acoustical sources. The disclosed method relates to the said “non-linear method” (NLM). The innovation resides in the fact that the NLM improves considerably the bandwidth of the wavefront reconstructed from off-axis interferograms and holograms obtained in a single shot. The advantage is the significant improvement of the resolution of the images obtained from the reconstructed wavefront, i.e.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method and its associated apparatus to retrieve the amplitude and, especially, the phase of nonlinear electromagnetic waves. The application field of the present invention is optical imaging. A sample is probed by coherent electromagnetic radiation, and by a nonlinear interaction such as harmonic generation a nonlinear object wave is emitted. A nonlinear reference wave is generated by interaction of the same nature with the coherent electromagnetic radiation, and an interference between the nonlinear object wave and the nonlinear reference wave is sensed by a detector array. As an example, the technique makes possible real-time nanometric localization and tracking of nonlinear field emitters, such as, but not limited to, nanoparticles.

Abstract: Apparatus and method are provided for monitoring and measuring matter and energy fluxes by use of devices able to detect refractive index changes. In one aspect, apparatus use an interference between two electromagnetic radiations in order to provide high sensitivity, enabling fluxes monitoring at the microscopic scale, by measuring phase changes or Optical Path Length (OPL) changes. In one aspect, methods are provided for monitoring and measuring the electrical activity of a biological cells, simultaneously on several cells, without use of electrodes and contrast agents.

Abstract: A new way of mixing instrumental and digital means is described for the general field of wave front sensing. The present invention describes the use, the definition and the utility of digital operators, called digital wave front operators (DWFO) or digital lenses (DL), specifically designed for the digital processing of wave fronts defined in amplitude and phase. DWFO are of particular interest for correcting undesired wave front deformations induced by instrumental defects or experimental errors. DWFO may be defined using a mathematical model, e.g. a polynomial function, which involves coefficients. The present invention describes automated and semi-automated procedures for calibrating or adjusting the values of these coefficients. These procedures are based on the fitting of mathematical models on reference data extracted from specific regions of a wave front called reference areas, which are characterized by the fact that specimen contributions are a priori known in reference areas.

Abstract: A new way of mixing instrumental and digital means is described for the general field of wave front sensing. The present invention describes the use, the definition and the utility of digital operators, called digital wave front operators (DWFO) or digital lenses (DL), specifically designed for the digital processing of wave fronts defined in amplitude and phase. DWFO are of particular interest for correcting undesired wave front deformations induced by instrumental defects or experimental errors. DWFO may be defined using a mathematical model, e.g. a polynomial function, which involves coefficients. The present invention describes automated and semi-automated procedures for calibrating or adjusting the values of these coefficients. These procedures are based on the fitting of mathematical models on reference data extracted from specific regions of a wave front called reference areas, which are characterized by the fact that specimen contributions are a priori known in reference areas.

Abstract: A sensor system for detection of a gaseous chemical substance is provided, which includes an optical sampling cell holding a sampling chamber of a volume of at most 20 mm3, a light emitter and a light receiver. The sampling cell is adapted for free-space, single monomodal propagation of the light beam. With the sensor system, high sensitivity is obtained by elimination of interferometric noise.

Abstract: An optical assembly includes an optical component, a substrate, and a thin glass layer located at the interface between the optical component and the substrate. The substrate can be a metal, a semiconductor, a plastic, a shape memory material, or a metal layer deposited on a shape memory material element. The optical component can be an optical fiber having a single core or a multicore optical fiber. The optical component can be a lens and the substrate can be a tube.