Multiple contrast metrics from the measurements of a digital confocal microscope

We describe various methods to process the data collected with a digital confocal microscope (DCM) in order to get more information than what we could get from a conventional confocal system. Different metrics can be extracted from the data collected with the DCM in order to produce images that reveal different features of the sample. The integrated phase of the scattered field allows for the three-dimensional reconstruction of the refractive index distribution. In a similar way, the integration of the field intensity yields the absorption coefficient distribution. The deflection of the digitally reconstructed focus reveals the sample-induced aberrations and the RMS width of the focus gives an indication on the local scattering coefficient. Finally, in addition to the conventional confocal metric, which consists in integrating the intensity within the pinhole, the DCM allows for the measurement of the phase within the pinhole. This metrics is close to the whole-field integrated phase and thus gives a qualitative image of the refractive index distribution. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America