DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERED MICROSPHERE FOR OPTICAL FOCUSING AND APPLICATIONS IN SUPER-RESOLUTION IMAGINING

Abstract

With the advancement in technology, objects have entered the nanoscale range, which presents an ever increasingly challenging problem for conventional optical microscopes. Breaking this limitation is a hot research topic. In this thesis, a new imaging method called optical microsphere nanoscope is proposed and demonstrated. The optical properties of the dielectric microspheres used in this technique are investigated and nano-imaging performance is improved by designing the “engineered microsphere”. The focal spot formed at the shadow side of the microsphere characterizes the focusing ability of the microsphere. Shrinking this focal spot has many benefits in various applications. In this topic, the modification of the focal spot by engineering the microsphere surface is proposed. This is the first work to change the microsphere structure and realize the tuning of the focal spot.