Three-Dimensional sub-10 nm resolution using Bessel Beam Microscopy

In Optical microscopes, determining the three-dimensional information from a two-dimensional view is a challenging task. Even if this information is extracted by optics manipulation, diffraction of light limits the resolution of optical microscopes to ~200 nm and ~500 nm in the lateral and axial directions, respectively. In our group, an optical super-resolution microscopy system, based on Bessel Beam has been developed. A Gaussian light beam is converted to Bessel Beam from which, the three-dimensional information of optical images is obtained. With this simple optical manipulation, a sub-10 nm resolution has been achieved in both lateral and axial directions. In the talk, details of the novel microscopy set up and results from the resolution testing experiments will be presented. Also, methods to tackle the effect of optical distortions on this microscopy system, using Adaptive Optics will be discussed, which can further improve the resolution as well as photon efficiency.