Planar-structure microscope-lens for simultaneous acoustic and optical imaging

Area of Science:

• Microscopy
• Acoustic Imaging
• Optical Imaging
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Traditional microscopy often requires separate acoustic and optical imaging systems.
• Simultaneous acquisition of both acoustic and optical data from a single specimen is challenging.
• Existing lens designs may not efficiently integrate both modalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a new planar lens capable of simultaneous acoustic and optical imaging.
• To integrate a Fresnel-zone-type acoustic lens with a gradient-index optical lens (SELFOC).
• To achieve coincident focal points for both acoustic and optical beams.

Main Methods:

• Design and fabrication of a planar lens combining a Fresnel-zone acoustic lens and a SELFOC rod lens.
• Utilizing annular grooves on the SELFOC rod for acoustic beam convergence.
• Employing a He-Ne laser source for the optical beam, guided and focused by the SELFOC rod's refractive index gradient.
• Adjusting the SELFOC rod length to align acoustic and optical focal points.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of the combined acoustic-optical lens.
• Demonstration of simultaneous acoustic and optical beam focusing in water.
• Preliminary experimental results showing co-localized acoustic and optical images of a specimen.

Conclusions:

• The proposed planar lens effectively integrates acoustic and optical functionalities.
• This technology enables simultaneous acquisition of complementary imaging data.
• The lens design offers a promising approach for advanced microscopy applications.