Patent ID: 8508746

Claim:
An interferometric system comprising: a light source configured to generate an illumination beam that propagates towards a sample; a sample holder defining an interior for holding the sample and including a partially reflective cover for allowing a first portion of the illumination beam to pass therethrough to interact with the sample to produce a sample beam that propagates substantially along an optical axis, wherein the partially reflective cover is oriented at an angle with respect to the optical axis for reflecting a second portion of the illumination beam to produce a reference beam that propagates at a predetermined angle with respect to the optical axis; an imaging module positioned to receive the sample and reference beams and configured to redirect the reference beam towards the optical axis at a detection plane; and a detector positioned to intercept the sample and reference beams along the optical axis and the detection plane, and configured to generate a holographic representation of the sample based on the sample and reference beams.