Multiplexed off-axis interferometric phase microscopy for dynamic cell measurements

We present a new approach of optically multiplexing several off-axis interferograms on the same digital camera, each of which encodes a different field of view of the sample. Since the fringes of these interferograms are in different directions, as obtained experimentally by the optical system, we are able to double or even triple the amount of information that can be acquired in a single camera exposure, with the same number of camera pixels, while sharing the camera dynamic range. We show that this method can partially solve the problem of limited off-axis interferometric field of view due to low-coherence illumination. Our experimental demonstrations include quantitative phase imaging of microscopic diatom shells, fast swimming sperm cells and microorganisms, and contracting cardiomyocytes.