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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Determination of the Excitation and Coupling Rates Between Light Emitters and Surface Plasmon Polaritons

Determination of the Excitation and Coupling Rates Between Light Emitters and Surface Plasmon Polaritons

Published on: July 21, 2018

Surface-plasmon-coupled emission microscopy with a polarization converter.

Yikai Chen¹, Douguo Zhang, Lu Han

¹Institute of Photonics, Department of Optics and Optical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.

|March 5, 2013

Summary

Surface-plasmon-coupled emission microscopy shows promise for sensitive surface imaging. A novel liquid-crystal plate method converts fluorescence polarization, improving optical resolution and signal collection for better imaging.

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Area of Science:

Optics and Photonics
Biomedical Imaging
Materials Science

Background:

Surface-plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) microscopy offers high sensitivity for surface imaging.
A key limitation of SPCE is its donut-shaped point spread function (PSF), causing poor optical resolution and inefficient signal collection.

Purpose of the Study:

To address the limitations of SPCE microscopy by enhancing optical resolution and signal collection efficiency.
To demonstrate a method for converting the polarization state of SPCE fluorescence.

Main Methods:

Experimentally employed a liquid-crystal (LC) plate to modify the polarization of SPCE fluorescence.
Converted the radial polarization of SPCE fluorescence to linear polarization.
Focused the modified fluorescence using a collection lens to achieve an Airy disk-like PSF.

Main Results:

Successfully generated an Airy disk-like PSF with a smaller size compared to the conventional donut shape.
Achieved simultaneous enhancement in both lateral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

Conclusions:

The use of a liquid-crystal plate is a feasible method to overcome the resolution limitations of SPCE microscopy.
This technique offers a pathway to improved sensitivity and resolution in surface imaging applications.