Fundamental limits of super-resolution microscopy by dielectric microspheres and microfibers

V. N. Astratov; A. V. Maslov; K. W. Allen; N. Farahi; Y. Li; A. Brettin; N. I. Limberopoulos; D. E. Walker Jr.; A. M. Urbas; V. Liberman; M. Rothschild

doi:10.1117/12.2212762

22 April 2016 Fundamental limits of super-resolution microscopy by dielectric microspheres and microfibers

V. N. Astratov, A. V. Maslov, K. W. Allen, N. Farahi, Y. Li, A. Brettin, N. I. Limberopoulos, D. E. Walker Jr., A. M. Urbas, V. Liberman, M. Rothschild

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9721, Nanoscale Imaging, Sensing, and Actuation for Biomedical Applications XIII; 97210K (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2212762
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2016, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In recent years, optical super-resolution by microspheres and microfibers emerged as a new paradigm in nanoscale label-free and fluorescence imaging. However, the mechanisms of such imaging are still not completely understood and the resolution values are debated. In this work, the fundamental limits of super-resolution imaging by high-index barium-titanate microspheres and silica microfibers are studied using nanoplasmonic arrays made from Au and Al. A rigorous resolution analysis is developed based on the object’s convolution with the point-spread function that has width well below the conventional (~λ/2) diffraction limit, where λ is the illumination wavelength. A resolution of ~λ/6-λ/7 is demonstrated for imaging nanoplasmonic arrays by microspheres. Similar resolution was demonstrated for microfibers in the direction perpendicular to the fiber axis with hundreds of times larger field-of-view in comparison to microspheres. Using numerical solution of Maxwell’s equations, it is shown that extraordinary close point objects can be resolved in the far field, if they oscillate out of phase. Possible super-resolution using resonant excitation of whispering gallery modes is also studied.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

V. N. Astratov, A. V. Maslov, K. W. Allen, N. Farahi, Y. Li, A. Brettin, N. I. Limberopoulos, D. E. Walker Jr., A. M. Urbas, V. Liberman, and M. Rothschild "Fundamental limits of super-resolution microscopy by dielectric microspheres and microfibers", Proc. SPIE 9721, Nanoscale Imaging, Sensing, and Actuation for Biomedical Applications XIII, 97210K (22 April 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2212762

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available