Three-Dimensional Super-Resolution Morphology by Near-Field Assisted White-Light Interferometry.
Recent developments in far-field fluorescent microscopy have enabled nanoscale imaging of biological entities by ingenious applications of fluorescent probes. For non-fluorescence applications, however, scanning probe microscopy still remains one of the most commonly used methods to "image" nanoscale features in all three dimensions, despite its limited throughput and invasiveness to scanned samples. Here, we propose a time-efficient three-dimensional super-resolution microscopy method: near-field assisted white light interferometry (NFWLI). This method takes advantage of topography acquisition using white-light interferometry and lateral near-field imaging via a microsphere superlens. The ability to discern structures in central processing units (CPUs) with minimum feature sizes of approximately 50 nm in the lateral dimensions and approximately 10 nm in the axial dimension within 25 s (40 times faster than atomic force microscopes) was demonstrated. We elaborate in this paper the principles of NFWLI and demonstrate its potential for becoming a practical method for high-speed and non-toxic three-dimensional nanoscale imaging.
State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Feifei
F
Wang
State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.
Lianqing
L
Liu
State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.
Peng
P
Yu
State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.
Zhu
Z
Liu
State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.
Haibo
H
Yu
State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.
Yuechao
Y
Wang
State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.|Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.
Wen Jung
WJ
Li