differential interference contrast (DIC)

A contrasting technique that utilizes illumination with polarized light that has been sheared into parallel ordinary and extraordinary rays, with differences in optical path length between these rays manifesting as constructive and destructive interference once recombined, creating contrast.

See also: contrasting technique , birefringence , interference , polarized light , Nomarski differential interference contrast

Learn more:

DIC

An excellent mechanism for rendering contrast in transparent specimens, differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy is a beam-shearing interference system in which the reference beam is sheared by a minuscule amount, generally somewhat less than the diameter of an Airy disk.