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High-Throughput Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence and Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy Using a Photonic Chip

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Steerable photonic jet for super-resolution microscopy.

Mirza Karamehmedović, Kenneth Scheel, Frederik Listov-Saabye Pedersen

|November 11, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

We developed a method to precisely control photonic jets using micro-lenses for super-resolution microscopy. This technique enables highly localized imaging without damaging delicate biological samples.

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Area of Science:

Optics and Photonics
Microscopy
Materials Science

Background:

Photonic jets (or photonic nanojets) are highly localized beams crucial for optical super-resolution microscopy.
Existing methods lack precise control over photonic jet generation and localization.
Need for non-damaging, high-resolution imaging techniques in biology and health sciences.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose and numerically demonstrate a method for computing incident field profiles to generate controllable photonic jets.
To investigate the influence of micro-lens geometry on photonic jet characteristics.
To analyze the resolution limits and practical applications of designed photonic jets.

Main Methods:

Computational design of incident field amplitude and phase profiles for dielectric micro-lenses.
Numerical simulations using 2D micro-lenses with circular and square cross-sections.
Theoretical analysis of photonic jet resolution and waist width dependency on lens parameters.

Main Results:

Successful generation of photonic jets at desired locations using designed incident fields.
Demonstrated that larger lenses can produce narrower photonic jets.
Observed a linear, slow increase in photonic jet waist width with radial distance; circular lenses produced jets, square lenses did not.

Conclusions:

The proposed method offers precise control over photonic jet generation for various micro-lens shapes.
Steerable optical photonic jet probes can enable adaptive real-time measurements.
The technique is suitable for super-resolution microscopy, scatterometry, and bio-imaging due to its non-damaging nature.