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Super‐resolution bright‐field optical microscopy based on nanometer topographic contrast
Author(s) -
Huang ShuWei,
Mong HongYao,
Lee ChauHwang
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/jemt.20091
Subject(s) - microscopy , resolution (logic) , contrast (vision) , optics , nanometre , super resolution microscopy , bright field microscopy , optical microscope , field (mathematics) , materials science , scanning confocal electron microscopy , physics , computer science , artificial intelligence , mathematics , scanning electron microscope , pure mathematics
By using an expectation‐maximization maximum likelihood estimation algorithm to improve the lateral resolution of a recently developed non‐interferometric wide‐field optical profilometer, we obtain super‐resolution bright‐field optical images of nanometer features on a flat surface. The optical profilometer employs a 365‐nm light source and an ordinary objective lens of a 0.95 numerical aperture. For objects of 100 nm thickness, lateral features about λ/7 can be resolved in the restored images without fluorescence labeling. Current image acquisition rate is 0.1 frame/sec, which is limited by the brightness of the light source. With a brighter light source, the imaging speed can be fast enough for real‐time observation of dynamic activities in the nanometer scale. Microsc. Res. Tech. 65:180–185, 2004. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.