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Abstract
Mueller matrix microscopy (MMM) is a powerful approach to probe microstructural and optical information of many important specimens (e.g., tissue and bacteria), which otherwise cannot be obtained directly from intensity or spectral images. Achieving high lateral resolution in MMM, similar to other microscopy approaches, remains a challenge. Here, we extend the idea of microsphere (MS) -assisted microscopy into MMM toward resolution-enhanced polarimetric imaging. The goal is achieved by insertion of a transparent MS in the working distance of the imaging microscope objective in the optical train of an MMM system. We experimentally show that an MS close to the sample in MMM may increase the resolution beyond the intrinsic diffraction limit of the system by redirecting the higher spatial frequencies of the sample into the acceptance cone. In order to be a case in point, the experiment is conducted on a standard holographic diffraction grating with 1 µm line-width, which is beyond the diffraction limit of a $10 \times$ objective. Two-dimensional images of the Mueller matrix and some of the widely used quantitative polarimetric parameters of the sample are calculated and compared in the two cases before and after insertion of MS. The proposed arrangement is easy to implement and has the potential to serve as a high-resolution polarimetric microscope for visualizing the polarization characteristics of the microscopic objects.
© 2020 Optical Society of America
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