title: An optical super-microscope for far-field, real-time imaging beyond the diffraction limit.
abstract: Optical microscopy suffers from a fundamental resolution limitation arising from the diffractive nature of light. While current solutions to sub-diffraction optical microscopy involve combinations of near-field, non-linear and fine scanning operations, we hereby propose and demonstrate the optical super-microscope (OSM) - a superoscillation-based linear imaging system with far-field working and observation distances - which can image an object in real-time and with sub-diffraction resolution. With our proof-of-principle prototype we report a point spread function with a spot size clearly reduced from the diffraction limit, and demonstrate corresponding improvements in two-point resolution experiments. Harnessing a new understanding of superoscillations, based on antenna array theory, our OSM achieves far-field, sub-diffraction optical imaging of an object without the need for fine scanning, data post-processing or object pre-treatment. Hence the OSM can be used in a wide variety of imaging applications beyond the diffraction limit, including real-time imaging of moving objects.
authors.affiliation: Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto. 10 King's College Rd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Alex M H
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: George V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Eleftheriades
mesh_terms: D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008027:Light; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*