Phase imaging apparatus, phase imaging method

A spatial light interference microscopy (SLIM) type phase imaging apparatus comprising:

• a first spatial modulator provided on a plane conjugate
• to a sample plane on which a sample is to be placed, and structured to cancel a phase delay that occurs due to the sample;
• a second spatial modulator structured to attenuate an intensity of a non-scattered light component of object light including phase information originating from the sample, and to shift a phase of the non-scattered light component;
• an image sensor structured to record a hologram with respect to the object light;
• and
• a calculation processing apparatus structured to combine complex amplitude information based on a modulation pattern supplied to the spatial light modulator and complex amplitude information based on a hologram with respect to the object light so as to acquire a phase distribution originating from the sample.

A phase imaging method comprising:

• inserting a spatial light modulator in a plane conjugate to a sample plane on which a sample is to be placed so as to spatially modulate illumination light to be irradiated to the sample or object light including phase information originating from the sample;
• removing a non-scattered light component of the object light;
• an image sensor structured to record a hologram based on the object light;
• recording a hologram based on the object light by means of the image sensor in a state in which a predetermined modulation pattern is supplied to the spatial light modulator;
• and
• combining complex amplitude information based on the predetermined modulation pattern and complex amplitude information based on the hologram recorded by the image sensor, so as to acquire the phase information.