ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents for having sublime faith in me. You have always supported me in every decision of my life. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Digant Dave, whose guidance and ever present help cannot be overemphasized. You gave me a great opportunity to work on this project which helped me to develop my skills in the field of optical imaging. To Dr. Khosrow Behbehani, Dr. Hanli Liu and Dr. J C Chiao, for imparting knowledge in me, in their field of expertise. Your advice and guidance helped me throughout the course of this project. To my brothers, Deepak and Rajesh for being a great source of strength and support all though my life, without you none of this would have ever been possible. I must thank my wife Mahika for her patience and understanding all though this work. Your love and encouragement has enabled me to complete this work. My special thanks to Kapil for his indispensable technical assistance. I take this opportunity to thank all the members of Dr. Dave’s group for their cooperation as and when required