Cross-grating phase microscopy (CGM):Insilicoexperiment (insilex)algorithm, noise and accuracy

Cross-grating phase microscopy (CGM) is a quantitative phase microscopy technique based on the association ofa 2-dimensional diffraction grating (aka cross-grating) and a regular camera sensor, separated by a millimetricdistance. This simple association enables the high-resolution imaging of the complex electric field amplitude ofa light beam (intensity and phase) from a single image acquisition. While CGM has been used for metrologyapplications in cell biology and nanophotonics this last decade, there has been few studies on its basics,especially for the microscopy community. In this article, we provide a numerical algorithm that enables thein silico(i.e. computer-simulated) data acquisition, to easily vary and observe the effects of all the CGMexperimental parameters using computer means. In the frame on this article, we illustrate the interest of thisnumerical algorithm by using it to explain and quantify the effects of several important CGM parameters(grating-camera distance, pixel size, light intensity, numerical apertures, etc.) on the noise, precision andtrueness of CGM measurements. This work is aimed to push the limits of CGM toward advanced applicationsin biomicroscopy and nanophotonics

Automated summary

Cross-grating phase microscopy (CGM) is a technique that combines a 2-dimensional diffraction grating and a regular camera sensor to achieve high-resolution imaging of the complex electric field of a light beam. In this article, a numerical algorithm is provided to simulate and observe the effects of various CGM experimental parameters. The algorithm is used to explain and quantify the influence of important CGM parameters on the noise, precision, and trueness of measurements. The aim of this work is to advance the applications of CGM in biomicroscopy and nanophotonics.