This invention discloses a differential
interferometric phase-
contrast imaging system, method, and time-difference
incubator device, belonging to the fields of
optical imaging and
medical device technology. The
system includes an illumination source module, a
microscopic imaging module, a polarization
interferometry module, and a quantitative
phase image reconstruction module. By placing all polarization
interferometry components, such as the
polarizer and
polarization beam splitter, on the image side of the
microscopic imaging module, the imaging beam does not need to pass through the plastic culture dish before passing through the polarization elements, thus completely avoiding interference from plastic
birefringence on the imaging and achieving high-quality observation of samples in
cell biology or
materials science fields within plastic culture dishes. Simultaneously, the
system uses a polarization camera to simultaneously acquire multiple phase-shifted interferograms in a
single exposure, combined with a quantitative
phase reconstruction algorithm, achieving high-speed, high-precision quantitative
phase imaging, overcoming the shortcomings of traditional mechanical phase-shifting methods, such as
slow speed and susceptibility to
motion artifacts. Furthermore, the imaging system of this invention can also be integrated into a time-difference
incubator.