Numerical Simulation For Light Scattering From Cells

Optical diagnostics has developed rapidly over the past few years. One of the primary goals is to obtain information about tissue morphology through the measurement of both reflected light and fluorescence.Light scattering characteristic plays a very important role in the optic imaging and diagnostic applications. The finite difference time domain method (FDTD) was used to simulate light scattering from a single cell. As the result, the Radar cross section (RCS) of the cell was computed. This technique is more flexible than Mie theory because it can model a cell with arbitrary structure. The scattering properties of cells were found to be highly dependent on cell morphology, particularly small organelles within the nucleus. FDTD simulations of light scattering from cells can significantly contribute to the elucidation of the role of cell morphology on light scattering properties. Besides, The Pulsed FDTD method was used to calculate the light scattering properties of cells over a range of wavelengths simultaneously.Scanning near field optical microscopy (SNOM) can provide optical imaging with ultra-high resolution due to its breakthrough of the limit of optical diffraction. The FDTD method was employed to simulate light propagation and the near field distribution was characterized. The calculation results are very helpful for understanding the radiation mechanism of light in the near field region and the behavior of light propagation in the probe. It can also help us to design optimum fiber probe.