Patent ID: 9541374
Date: 2017-01-10
CPC Classifications: G01B,G01N,G02B,G06T

Claim:
1. A method for imaging a 3D object immersed in a medium of index of refraction n med comprising: providing a first optical system disposed to provide a substantially coherent illumination to the 3D object, wherein the illumination is characterized by a plurality of wavelengths λ providing a second optical system comprising an optical image recording device and one or more additional optical components with a numerical aperture NA, the second optical system defining an optical axis, wherein the optical recording device is operable to collect at least a portion of the Illumination from the first optical system scattered from the 3D object, wherein the optical axis of the second optical system is disposed at one of a plurality of angles between 0 and π/2 with respect to the longitudinal axis of the 3D object and at a plurality of azimuth angles spanning about 0 to 2π, wherein a field-of-view of the second optical system is within a spatial extent of the uniform-intensity illumination provided by the first optical system; providing a third optical system disposed in an optical path of the first optical system to provide interferometric reintroduction of a portion of the coherent illumination at each λ recording a plurality of sub-images of the 3D object at the optical image recording device, one at each λ adjusting the first, the second and the third optical systems to collect a plurality of sub-images corresponding to the plurality of wavelengths, to a plurality of off-axis illumination conditions, and additionally to a plurality of directions of the optical axis of the second optical system with respect to the longitudinal axis of the 3D object; and combining the plurality of sub-images into a separate composite images of the 3D object.