Apparatus for Optical Imaging

Detecting and analyzing micro-organisms is of importance in a variety of technical felds. Pulse-amplitude-modulation (PAM) fuorometers, fow cytometers and optical microscopy techniques are widely used in combination with fuorescence labeling forthe analysis of biological micro-organisms (microalgae, bacteria, etc...).The present invention relates to an apparatus for optical imaging of a sample comprising a first polarizing device configured for linearly polarizing a first light beam coming from the sample to obtain first linearly polarized light, a first birefringent device, in particular, a first Savart plate, configured for splitting the first linearly polarized light obtained by the first polarizing device into a first pair of sheared light beams and a first image sensor device configured for detecting the first pair of sheared light beams obtained by the first birefringent device.