Quantitative phase imaging via Fourier ptychographic microscopy

Fourier ptychographic microscopy (FPM) is a recently developed imaging modality that uses angularly varying illumination to extend a system's performance beyond the limit defined by its optical components. The FPM technique applies a novel phase-retrieval procedure to achieve resolution enhancement and complex image recovery. In this Letter, we compare FPM data to theoretical prediction and phase-shifting digital holography measurement to show that its acquired phase maps are quantitative and artifact-free. We additionally explore the relationship between the achievable spatial and optical thickness resolution offered by a reconstructed FPM phase image. We conclude by demonstrating enhanced visualization and the collection of otherwise unobservable sample information using FPM's quantitative phase.