Open AccessReconstruction of finite deep sub-wavelength nanostructures by Mueller-matrix scattered-field microscopy
Author(s) -
Wei Cai,
Xiuguo Chen,
Chao Chen,
Sheng Sheng,
Lixuan Song,
Honggang Gu,
Hao Jiang,
Chuanwei Zhang,
Shiyuan Liu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.432611
Subject(s) - mueller calculus , optics , numerical aperture , polarization (electrochemistry) , scattering , microscopy , wavelength , image resolution , diffraction , ptychography , physics , materials science , polarimetry , chemistry
Computational super-resolution is a novel approach to break the diffraction limit. The Mueller matrix, which contains full-polarization information about the morphology and structure of a sample, can add super-resolution information and be a promising way to further enhance the resolution. Here we proposed a new approach called Mueller-matrix scattered-field microscopy (MSM) that relies on a computational reconstruction strategy to quantitatively determine the geometrical parameters of finite deep sub-wavelength nanostructures. The MSM adopts a high numerical-aperture objective lens to collect a broad range of spatial frequencies of the scattered field of a sample in terms of Mueller-matrix images. A rigorous forward scattering model is established for MSM, which takes into account the vectorial nature of the scattered field when passing through the imaging system and the effect of defocus in the measurement process. The experimental results performed on a series of isolated Si lines have demonstrated that MSM can resolve a feature size of λ/16 with a sub-7 nm accuracy. The MSM is fast and has a great measurement accuracy for nanostructures, which is expected to have a great potential application for future nanotechnology and nanoelectronics manufacturing.