Update on the use of digital micromirror devices in quantitative microscopy

There are many different modes of microscopy, and all of these modes deliver light in a controlled fashion to the object to be examined and collect as much of the light containing the desired information about the object as possible. The system being presented replaces the simple irises of a conventional microscope with digital micromirror devices (DMDs, made by Texas Instruments) to produce a digital microscope. The DMDs are placed in the optical path at positions corresponding to the field and aperture diaphragms of a conventional microscope. This allows for more precise and flexible control over the spatial location, amount, and angles of the illumination light, and the light to be collected. This digital microscope will improve existing modes of microscopy, specifically in quantitative microscopy. Using the intensity modulation feature of the DMDs, the system can correct for inhomogeneous illumination sources to achieve uniform distributions. In various configurations, one can perform brightfield, darkfield, confocal, and fluorescence microscopy. In addition, new microscopy modes will be possible, such as reconstruction microscopy. Utilizing the fast switching times of the mirrors (under 20 mu s), one can switch between modes efficiently.