Low-coherence optical diffraction tomography using a ferroelectric liquid crystal spatial light modulator

Abstract

Optical diffraction tomography (ODT) is a three-dimensional (3D) label-free imaging technique. The 3D refractive index distribution of a sample can be reconstructed from multiple two-dimensional optical field images via ODT. Herein, we introduce a temporally low-coherence ODT technique using a ferroelectric liquid crystal spatial light modulator (FLC SLM). The fast binary-phase modulation provided by the FLC SLM ensures the high spatiotemporal resolution. To reduce coherent noise, a superluminescent light-emitting diode is used as an economic low-coherence light source. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed system using various samples, including colloidal microspheres and live epithelial cells.