Effect of a Q-Plate Placed Behind the Objective Lens in a Imaging Camera

In coaxial illumination telecentric imaging optical systems such as microscopes and imaging cameras, functions such as surface shape observation and wide-field confocal observation are realized by placing a spatial polarization control device on the pupil plane of the objective lens. The measurement principle is the detection of changes in polarization distribution between the incident light and the detected light. The slight change in the optical path that occurs with the reflection on the sample surface is converted into polarization information by the spatial polarization control device. Thus, changes in the light path caused by the tilt of the sample surface, scattering due to nano-unevenness, and focus out of the sample are projected as polarization images on the camera.