NEW POLARIZED-LIGHT MICROSCOPE WITH PRECISION UNIVERSAL COMPENSATOR

A new type of polarized light microscope ('new pol-scope') for fast an d orientation-independent measurement of birefringent fine structure h as been developed. The design of the new pol-scope incorporates a prec ision universal compensator made from two liquid crystal variable reta rders. A video camera and digital image processing system provide fast measurements of specimen anisotropy (retardance magnitude and azimuth ) at all points of the image forming the field of view. The images doc ument fine structural and molecular organization within a thin optical section of the specimen, The sensitivity of the current instrument is 0 . 1 nm of specimen retardance, measured with data gathered in 0 . 4 3 s at all 640 x 480 image points, Examples of birefringence measureme nts in biological (microtubule arrays) and industrial (magneto-optical disc substrate) specimens are presented.