Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Metal-enhanced bright-field microscopy

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

Transparent samples pose serious challenges in bright-field microscopic imaging due to their low optical contrast, which also affects the imaging speed. While the role of the substrate in enhancing optical contrast has been investigated for imaging modalities such as fluorescence, a similar analysis for bright-field imaging has not been conducted. Here, we explore the effect of the substrate on the optical contrast and imaging speed in bright-field microscopic imaging. We develop a simulation model to explain the significant improvement in these imaging parameters by the introduction of reflective back substrates. We explain the effects using energy density distribution plots, power coupling, and scattering. Further, we explore the notion of optical contrast in the case of microfeatures and a procedure for selecting an appropriate metric to quantify the same. This work concludes with experimental results showing a twofold improvement in contrast and a fivefold improvement in imaging rate by an appropriate choice of back substrate.

© 2020 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Bright-field microscopy of semitransparent objects

Gregory Stagaman and James M. Forsyth
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 5(5) 648-659 (1988)

Surface-plasmon microscopy with a two-piece solid immersion lens: bright and dark fields

Jing Zhang, Mark C. Pitter, Shugang Liu, Chungwah See, and Mike G. Somekh
Appl. Opt. 45(31) 7977-7986 (2006)

Supplementary Material (1)

NameDescription
Supplement 1       Supplement 1 (Supplementary document containg detailed simulation parameters, experimental procedures and results as well as comparison of contrast metrics)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Figures (7)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Equations (6)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Equations are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved