Phase-contrast imaging

<p>Phase-contrast imaging is a method of <a href="/facts/Image/hbjEdTXK">imaging</a> that has a range of different applications. It measures differences in the <a href="/facts/Refractive_index/yjkzvgeE">refractive index</a> of different materials to differentiate between structures under analysis. In conventional <a href="/facts/Light_microscopy/GpHlElDS">light microscopy</a>, phase contrast can be employed to distinguish between structures of similar transparency, and to examine crystals on the basis of their <a href="/facts/Birefringence/J4lLuR3a">double refraction</a>. This has uses in biological, medical and geological science. In <a href="/facts/X-ray_computed_tomography/NusPJ2S8">X-ray tomography</a>, the same physical principles can be used to increase image contrast by highlighting small details of differing refractive index within structures that are otherwise uniform. In <a href="/facts/Transmission_Electron_Microscopy/Rpr8jpCn">transmission electron microscopy</a> (TEM), phase contrast enables very high resolution (HR) imaging, making it possible to distinguish features a few Angstrom apart (at this point highest resolution is 40 pm).
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Phase-contrast imaging open-in-new

Phase-contrast imaging