Opto-Electronic Engineering, Volume. 49, Issue 11, 220056(2022)

Label-free far-field subdiffraction imaging based on hyperbolic metamaterial

Xuesong Chen1, Wenjuan Du1、*, Zhilang Lou1, and Dongliang Tang2
Author Affiliations
  • 1School of Physics and Optoelectronics, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan 411105, China
  • 2Key Laboratory for Micro/Nano Optoelectronic Devices of Ministry of Education and Hunan Provincial, Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Structural Physics and Devices, School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China
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    Overview: The spatial resolution of traditional optical microscopy is limited by the diffraction limit λ/(2NA) (λ is the wavelength, NA is the numerical aperture of the objective lens of system), and the lateral resolution is about 200 nm~300 nm, which makes it difficult to achieve clear imaging for micro-nano structures or cell samples. In this paper, a label-free far-field super-resolution imaging method based on hyperbolic metamaterial is proposed. Super-resolution optical microscopy is an important technology due to the non-contact and non-destructive advantages. Currently, most of the super-resolution imaging methods rely on the fluorescent dyes, which limited their applications. The label-free far-field microscopy imaging method based on the frequency shift effect has been proposed and developed in recent years. However, its spatial resolution is limited by the refractive index of waveguide materials. Based on the characteristic of optical spatial spectrum band-pass filtering in hyperbolic metamaterials (HMM), a large-area uniform bulk plasmon polariton (BPP) field with high spatial frequency can be achieved by combining with nano-scale gratings. Due to the large wave vector of the BPP illumination, the high-frequency information of the object can be transferred to the passband in traditional imaging systems and participate in super-resolution imaging. Illuminated by a BPP field with 2.66k0 at the wavelength of 532 nm, a double-slits structure with a 100 nm-wide center-to-center distance has been resolved with a 0.85 numerical aperture standard objective based on this method. The lateral resolution is improved to λ/5.32. By further improving the transverse wave vector of BPP, it can be improved to λ/7.82. This design is label-free and conveniently integrated with traditional microscopes, which provides a visual super-resolution imaging method for applications in biomedicine, on-chip industry, material science, and other fields.Super-resolution optical microscopy is an important technology due to the non-contact and non-destructive advantages. Currently, most of the super-resolution imaging methods rely on fluorescent dyes, which limited their applications. The label-free far-field microscopy imaging method based on the frequency shift effect has been proposed and developed in recent years. However, its spatial resolution is limited by the refractive index of waveguide materials. Based on the characteristic of optical spatial spectrum band-pass filtering in hyperbolic metamaterials (HMM), a large-area uniform bulk plasmon polariton (BPP) field with high spatial frequency can be achieved by combining with nano-scale gratings. Due to the large wave vector of the BPP illumination, the high-frequency information of the object can be transferred to the passband in traditional imaging systems and participate in super-resolution imaging. Illuminated by a BPP field with 2.66 k0 at a wavelength of 532 nm, a double-slit structure with a 100 nm-wide center-to-center distance has been resolved with a 0.85 numerical aperture standard objective based on this method. The lateral resolution is improved to λ/5.32. By further improving the transverse wave vector of BPP, it can be improved toλ/7.82. This design is label-free and conveniently integrated with traditional microscopes, which provides a visual super-resolution imaging method for applications in biomedicine, on-chip industry, material science, and other fields.

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    Xuesong Chen, Wenjuan Du, Zhilang Lou, Dongliang Tang. Label-free far-field subdiffraction imaging based on hyperbolic metamaterial[J]. Opto-Electronic Engineering, 2022, 49(11): 220056

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    Paper Information

    Category: Article

    Received: Apr. 21, 2022

    Accepted: --

    Published Online: Dec. 27, 2022

    The Author Email: Wenjuan Du (wenjuandu@xtu.edu.cn)

    DOI:10.12086/oee.2022.220056

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