Optical Super-Resolution Imaging Study Based on Controlling Liquid-Immersed Microsphere

Super-resolution images beyond classic diffraction limit can be generated by microspheres with appropriate refractive index. This paper presented a method of controlling liquid-immersed microsphere for achieving images with a resolution beyond the diffraction limit. The microsphere was attached to the probe using optical glue. The optical simulation has been performed to demonstrate the influence of probe on super-resolution image. To improve imaging quality, the microsphere was immersed in liquid medium. The probe was fixed in a translation stage which was regarded as a robotic manipulator with four degrees of freedoms (DOF). By scanning the submerged microsphere over the sample surface at the speed of 5x10(-6) m/s, the super-resolution image of large continuous region was obtained. This work has developed a new alternative for real-time optical super-resolution imaging, and can be practically applied in multifarious fields of scientific research.