Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique

Université Paris 7—Denis Diderot

Arnaud Dubois

Claude Boccara

Jean-Fran&ccedil;ois Le Gargasson

Pierre Lena

A method and a device for interferential microscopic imaging of an object which comprises sending a light beam in each of the arms of a two-wave interferometer, one of the arms comprising the object to be analyzed. The phase is subjected to a sinusoidal modulation to a frequency f. The signal modulation results from mechanical oscillation of an assembly of elements of the interferometer. The interference signal (S) is integrated during the phase variation via a multichannel sensor. A computer enables to record the integrated interference signal obtained during each period fraction 1/n and to calculate, subsequently, the image of the object. The invention is potentially useful for characterizing thin layers, for controlling components in microelectronics, for reading data stored in volume (3D) and objects unstable in time; in biology and in vivo studies.

Method and device for high-speed interferential microscopic imaging of an object

The invention concerns a device for observing a body, in particular a viewer, comprising means for illuminating ( ) the body ( ), means for sampling ( ) light coming from an illuminated site ( ) of the body and compensating means ( ) for measuring a deformation of the wave front of a beam coming from a point of the body ( ) and for applying to the light sampled by the sampling means ( ) a correction calculated on the basis of said measured deformation. The invention is characterised in that the sampling means and the compensating means are arranged such that, for each point of the body used for calculating the correction, the sampling means sample the light on a selected zone of the body near enough to said calculation point for the deformation of the wave front of the light coming from any point of that zone should be the same as that coming from the point of calculation more or less within a wavelength fraction, and the device includes means ( ) for automatically changing the point of the body ( ) used for the calculation of correction and for changing synchronously the associated sampling zone, such that the device scans the observed body by way of a series of such successive zones for each of which the deformation of the wave front derived from any point in the zone is identical, more or less within a wavelength fraction, to the deformation of the wave front derived from the associated point of calculation.

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Les Ulis, France

Arnaud Dubois