Metamaterial assisted illumination nanoscopy via random super-resolution speckles

Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is one of the most powerful and versatile optical super-resolution techniques. Compared with other super-resolution methods, SIM has shown its unique advantages in wide-field imaging with high temporal resolution and low photon damage. However, traditional SIM only has about 2 times spatial resolution improvement compared to the diffraction limit. In this work, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an easily-implemented, low-cost method to extend the resolution of SIM, named speckle metamaterial-assisted illumination nanoscopy (speckle-MAIN). A metamaterial structure is introduced to generate speckle-like sub-diffraction-limit illumination patterns in the near field with improved spatial frequency. Such patterns, similar to traditional SIM, are then used to excite objects on top of the surface. We demonstrate that speckle-MAIN can bring the resolution down to 40 nm and beyond. Speckle-MAIN represents a new route for super-resolution, which may lead to important applications in bio-imaging and surface characterization.