In-situ measurements of nanoscale phenomena using diffraction phase microscopy

In this work, we present recent results on several novel applications including optically monitoring the dissolution of biodegradable materials proposed for use in biological electronic implants, the self-assembly of microtubes during semiconductor etching, and the expansion and deformation of palladium structures for use in hydrogen sensing applications. The measurements are done using diffraction phase microscopy (DPM), a quantitative phase imaging (QPI) technique, which uses the phase of the imaging field to reconstruct a map of the sample’s surface. It combines off-axis and common-path geometries allowing for single-shot, high-speed dynamics with sub-nanometer noise levels.