June 2016 Issue
Topics

Mixing photophysics and information technology: Insights into holography based optical microscopy and information optics

"My interest in optics was triggered by the sight of a hologram when I was a student," says Eriko Watanabe, assistant professor at the Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering. "Now I have my own research group with projects on information optics, innovative microscopy, and 3D measurement systems. Optics is an exciting and dynamic area of research." Notably, Professor Watanabe has also launched a venture company to commercialize results of her innovative research.

Research highlights based on integrating photophysics and information technology

Developing a lens-less digital phase imaging holographic microscope with no moving parts for medical applications [1-2]. This unique and innovative microscope is only 22mm x 25m is size, with a heater (thermo-optic) to shift the phase. Initial measurements include distinguishing cancer cells from normal human cells.

An optical correlation system with a volume holographic optical disc memory for ultra-high speed, low power consumption 10 Tbps/1 TB computers. The holographic disk consists of a multilayer of glass/aluminum/photopolymer/glass irradiated with 650 nm servo light and 532 nm hologram writing and reading light [3].

Copyright management using FReCs (Fast Recognition Correlation System) for recognizing high capacity image data posted on websites such as YouTube without the owner's permission. FReCs is offered commercially by Photonics System Solutions Ltd., a UEC based venture company launched by Eriko Watanabe and Kashiko Kodate [4].

References
  1. Eriko Watanabe, Takashi Hoshiba, and Bahram Javidi, High-precision microscopic phase imaging without phase unwrapping for cancer cell identification, Optics Letters, 38, 1319, (2013) doi: 10.1364/OL.38.001319
  2. E. Watanabe, K. Hoshino, S. Takeuchi, Portable digital holographic microscope using spherical reference beam, Optical Review, 22, 342, (2015).
  3. K. Ikeda and E. Watanabe, High speed optical correlator with coaxial holographic system, JJAP 54, 09ME02, (2015).