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Published on: October 31, 2015
Metalens Enables Parallel Chromatic Confocal Imaging over a Millimeter-Scale Depth Range with an Axial
Yu-Jie Lin1, Linghan Zhao1, Md Tarek Rahman1
1Department of Electrical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.
Nano Letters
|May 16, 2026
Summary
This study introduces a novel metalens-based confocal microscopy technique that eliminates mechanical scanning for faster, deeper imaging. This compact, label-free platform offers high-resolution microscopic analysis over an extended depth range.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Microscopy
- Materials Science
Background:
- Confocal microscopy offers optical sectioning but is limited by mechanical scanning and bulky components.
- Existing methods struggle with speed and depth for high-resolution imaging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a compact, label-free confocal microscopy system with parallel depth imaging capabilities.
- To eliminate mechanical axial scanning by utilizing chromatic dispersion.
Main Methods:
- A custom metalens was designed to leverage chromatic dispersion for encoding wavelengths into axial positions.
- A single-mode fiber was used as a simultaneous illumination/collection probe and confocal pinhole.
- Parallel confocal depth imaging was performed over a 1.3 mm axial range within a 200 nm visible bandwidth.
Main Results:
- Achieved an axial space-bandwidth product (ASBP) of ≈68, eliminating mechanical axial scanning.
- Demonstrated an axial resolution of 11.4 μm and a lateral resolution of 2.19 μm.
- Validated parallel confocal imaging through depth-resolved imaging and surface profile measurements.
Conclusions:
- The developed meta-optical chromatic confocal imaging system is compact and label-free.
- This platform shows significant potential for large-depth, high-resolution microscopic applications.
- The elimination of mechanical scanning enables faster and more efficient imaging.
