A Single Sub-Millimetric Metasurface-Based Optical Element for Lattice Bessel Beam Excitation Enabling Brain Activity...

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Biomedical Imaging
• Microscopy

Background:

• Bessel beams (BBs) offer extended propagation-invariant intensity profiles, beneficial for light sheet microscopy (LSM) light-sheet generation.
• Current BB lattice generation methods for LSM are complex, bulky, and limited to regular patterns, hindering versatility and integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a flexible and integrated method for generating arbitrary Bessel beam (BB) arrays using a single metasurface.
• To overcome limitations of existing BB lattice generation techniques in light sheet microscopy (LSM).

Main Methods:

• A single sub-millimetric metasurface was designed to encode all necessary optical transformations for BB-array generation.
• The metasurface was fabricated and implemented in an LSM configuration to generate a linear BB array.
• Neuronal activity was recorded at cellular resolution in zebrafish larvae using the developed system.

Main Results:

• A metasurface-based optical element successfully generated a linear array of Bessel beams (BBs).
• The method enabled arbitrary BB-array geometries, increasing degrees of freedom and light usage efficiency.
• Cellular-resolution neuronal activity was recorded in zebrafish larvae, demonstrating the system's efficacy.

Conclusions:

• The proposed metasurface approach offers a versatile and integrated solution for generating Bessel beam (BB) arrays in light sheet microscopy (LSM).
• This method significantly enhances the flexibility and applicability of BB-array generation for advanced biological imaging.
• The technology facilitates integration into optical systems and opens new avenues for studying complex biological processes.