SLM-based Microscopy

In microscopy it is customary to use a wide variety of imaging methods. Unfortunately, it is necessary for most of them to change the setup physically (e.g. filters, special objectives, etc.). We present a programmable microscope in which an integrated spatial light modulator(SLM) is used in order to realize a number of otherwise complicated physical modifications. We employ a HDTV LCOS SLM , 2 different LED illuminations in reflection and transmission, an Olympus UmPlanFl 50x with a NA of 0.8 and a CCD camera with 1024x768 resolution. By the use of computer generated holograms(CGHs) we were able to recreate a number of classical phase contrast imaging techniques such as Zernike phase contrast or DIC, and modify them in unconventional ways. In addition, by halfing the filter plane stereovision for three dimensional object reconstruction was achieved. Furthermore, aberrations can be prevented by applying concerning filters. By extending the setup with a laser illumination over an SLM, the setup gains the ability to employ structured illumination and confocal microscopy techniques.