Super-resolution multicolor fluorescence microscopy enabled by an apochromatic super-oscillatory lens with extended depth-of-focus

W Li, P He, D Lei, Y Fan, Y Du, B Gao, Z Chu… - Nature …, 2023 - nature.com
W Li, P He, D Lei, Y Fan, Y Du, B Gao, Z Chu, L Li, K Liu, C An, W Yuan, Y Yu
Nature Communications, 2023nature.com
Planar super-oscillatory lens (SOL), a far-field subwavelength-focusing diffractive device,
holds great potential for achieving sub-diffraction-limit imaging at multiple wavelengths.
However, conventional SOL devices suffer from a numerical-aperture-related intrinsic
tradeoff among the depth of focus (DoF), chromatic dispersion and focusing spot size. Here,
we apply a multi-objective genetic algorithm (GA) optimization approach to design an
apochromatic binary-phase SOL having a prolonged DoF, customized working distance …
Abstract
Planar super-oscillatory lens (SOL), a far-field subwavelength-focusing diffractive device, holds great potential for achieving sub-diffraction-limit imaging at multiple wavelengths. However, conventional SOL devices suffer from a numerical-aperture-related intrinsic tradeoff among the depth of focus (DoF), chromatic dispersion and focusing spot size. Here, we apply a multi-objective genetic algorithm (GA) optimization approach to design an apochromatic binary-phase SOL having a prolonged DoF, customized working distance (WD), minimized main-lobe size, and suppressed side-lobe intensity. Experimental implementation demonstrates simultaneous focusing of blue, green and red light beams into an optical needle of ~0.5λ in diameter and DOF > 10λ at WD = 428 μm. By integrating this SOL device with a commercial fluorescence microscope, we perform, for the first time, three-dimensional super-resolution multicolor fluorescence imaging of the “unseen” fine structures of neurons. The present study provides not only a practical route to far-field multicolor super-resolution imaging but also a viable approach for constructing imaging systems avoiding complex sample positioning and unfavorable photobleaching.
nature.com