Figure 1

Diagram of the Jamin–Lebedeff interference microscope. P, polarizer; BS, beam splitter; H, half-wave plate; O, object; BC, beam combiner; S, Sénarmont compensator; A, analyzer. An object with thickness d is immersed in a medium (grey box). Numbers 1–5 indicate different levels of the two light beams (a and b) in the microscope.