High Speed Plasmonic Structured Illumination Microscopy

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this program is to develop a new concept of a high throughput optical microscopy technique with unprecedented imaging resolution as well as speed. By combining two emerging fields, surface plasmon interference engineering with the structured illumination microscopy technique, the proposed plasmonic structured illumination microscopy (PSIM) takes advantage of the superior properties of surface plasmons to significantly improve the spatial resolution. A prototype plasmonic structured illumination microscope will be constructed with 3-5 fold spatial resolution improvement compared with a conventional light microscope. The target imaging speed is 50 frames/second and beyond. Intellectual Merit: The PSIM is a novel concept and it is the first ever to utilize surface plasmon interference patterns in structured illumination microscopy to improve the imaging resolution. Considering both the high resolution and the high speed, the proposed PSIM will represent a new standard of optical imaging tools that is difficult to realize through any other current techniques. Broader Impacts: The remarkable performance improvement provided by this proposed PSIM will make profound influences in a broad spectrum of fields wherever a high speed high-resolution optical microscopy is needed. The impact of this research will be far-reaching. The outreach activities include the involvement of graduate and undergraduate students in the project as well as the development of new courses which will be integrated with current under/graduate curricula. More importantly, the PSIM will also be introduced to local biologists through NCMIR, a national public imaging facility, to assist in the new discoveries in their fields.