Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Dual-probe photothermal microscopy for suppression of side-lobe artifacts
None:
Photothermal microscopy enables high-sensitivity imaging of light-absorbing molecules; however, conventional implementations suffer from axial side-lobe artifacts that degrade accurate observation of three-dimensional structures. This study introduces a dual-probe photothermal microscopy approach that combines two probes at distinct axial positions with polarization-space-division balanced detection to suppress these artifacts without compromising probe power. Experiments using gold nanoparticles revealed that the side-lobe-to-main-lobe ratio decreased from 0.18 in conventional detection to 0.032 with the proposed method. Cross-sectional imaging of cedar pollen further demonstrated substantial suppression of spurious signals. This approach is compatible with dynamic specimens and extends the capability of photothermal microscopy for precise structural analysis.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...
Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy
Two-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology

