Volume imaging by three dimensional scanning acoustic microscopy with phase contrast

Three dimensional scanning is employed for scanning acoustic microscopy with phase contrast in reflection operated at a frequency of 1.2 GHz. For samples with sufficient transparency, such as biological tissue immersed in water, which is used as a coupling fluid, spatially resolved information of the acoustic properties can be obtained in the volume of the object. Different schemes of image processing are demonstrated and discussed with respect to the obtainable information. Examples are presented for biological samples with relatively hard and, therefore, mechanically well defined surfaces and for samples exhibiting non abrupt and less pronounced variations of the mechanical properties in the vicinity of the surface.