title: High-dynamic-range microscope imaging based on exposure bracketing in full-field optical coherence tomography.
abstract: By applying the proposed high-dynamic-range (HDR) technique based on exposure bracketing, we demonstrate a meaningful reduction in the spatial noise in image frames acquired with a CCD camera so as to improve the fringe contrast in full-field optical coherence tomography (FF-OCT). This new signal processing method thus allows improved probing within transparent or semitransparent samples. The proposed method is demonstrated on 3 μm thick transparent polymer films of Mylar, which, due to their transparency, produce low contrast fringe patterns in white-light interference microscopy. High-resolution tomographic analysis is performed using the technique. After performing appropriate signal processing, resulting XZ sections are observed. Submicrometer-sized defects can be lost in the noise that is present in the CCD images. With the proposed method, we show that by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the images, submicrometer-sized defect structures can thus be detected.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leong-Hoi
authors.forename: Paul C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Serio
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Twardowski
authors.forename: Wilfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Uhring