Confocal Microscope for Three-Dimensional Polarization Analysis and Its applications to biology

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A confocal microscope for the use of three-dimensional polarization analysis was developed. Since the pinhole before the detector eliminates the light whose polarization is rotated by an imaging lens, the polarization properties of specimens are observed with high contrast. The pinhole size required to achieve high contrast was discussed. Three-dimensional resolution of the polarization microscope was also demonstrated.The three-dimensional imaging analysis using the extended Mie scattering theory was developed. In the analysis, we calculated the images of a Mie particle whose diameter is comparable with the wavelength of confocal microscope. It was found that, when we observe a Mie particle, polarization confocal microscopy is not affected by the polarization distortion that is due to focusing with high-numerical-aperture lenses and does not produce pseudopeaks in the images in comparison with conventional polarization microscopy. The three-dimensional resolution of the polarization microscope and the verification of the proposed analysis method were also discussed.