Quantitative phase and refractive index measurements with point-source digital in-line holographic microscopy

Point source Digital In-line Holographic Microscopy with numerical reconstructio is ideally suited for quantitative phase measurements to determine optical path lengths and to extract changes in refractive index within an accuracy of 0.001 on the submictron length scale. This is demonstrated with simulated holograms and with detailed measurements on a number of different micron-sized samples such as suspended drops, optical fibers, as well as organisms of biological interest such as E.coli bacteria, Hela cells and Fibroblast cells.