Polarized light microscopy provides unique opportunities for analyzing the
molecular order in man-made and natural materials, including biological
structures inside living cells, tissues, and whole organisms. 20 years ago, the
LC-PolScope was introduced as a modern version of the traditional polarizing
microscope enhanced by liquid crystal devices for the control of polarization,
and by electronic imaging and digital image processing for fast and
comprehensive image acquisition and analysis. The LC- PolScope is commonly used
for birefringence imaging, analyzing the spatial and temporal variations of the
differential phase delay in ordered and transparent materials. Here we describe
an alternative use of the LC-PolScope for imaging the polarization dependent
transmittance of dichroic materials. We explain the minor changes needed to
convert the instrument between the two imaging modes, discuss the relationship
between the quantities measured with either instrument, and touch on the
physical connection between refractive index, birefringence, transmittance,
diattenuation, and dichroism.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Journal of Optic
