M. Kempe et al., COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF CONFOCAL AND HETERODYNE MICROSCOPY FOR IMAGING THROUGH SCATTERING MEDIA, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science,and vision., 13(1), 1996, pp. 46-52
We investigate limits of the confocal microscope when applied to imagi
ng through scattering layers and compare its performance with that of
a correlation (heterodyne) microscope. Confocal laser scanning microsc
opy is shown to make possible imaging through scattering media owing t
o the spatial filtering of the signal back-reflected from the sample.
Its performance is limited by the noise of the detection system and/or
insufficient rejection of scattered light, depending on the sample un
der investigation. Correlation microscopy with narrow or broad bandwid
th light can extend these limits by selective, optical amplification o
f the image information. (C) 1996 Optical Society of America