superlens involving amplification of the object’s near fields in a thin layer of metal
followed by the diffraction in air, and different types of hyperlenses using metamaterials with the hyperbolic dispersion relations including an example of hyperstructured illumination presented in Chap. 14.
The last three chapters of the book describe imaging of nanoscale objects
through contact dielectric microlenses, namely dielectric microspheres. A detailed
review of such methods can be found in Chap. 15. A review of corresponding
theoretical mechanisms is presented in Chap. 16. A combination of these methods
with interferometric detection schemes is represented in Chap. 17. The resolution
of these methods is expected to be limited by the solid immersion lens concept, but,
in fact, the use of nanoplasmonic objects or plasmonic metasurfaces resonantly
coupled to such objects can increase the resolution beyond the solid immersion lens
limit. The applications of such methods are stimulated by their simplicity combined
with the easiness of their integration with the whole arsenal of other
super-resolution techniques, leading to even higher resolution values which can be
obtained in future studies.
Although the scope of this book is rather broad, some of the super-resolution
LFM methods related to information theory used in combination with novel ways
of illumination of samples and/or collection of the optical information are not
included in this book. The method with a significant application in ophthalmology
is represented by ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) where
the lateral resolution is diffraction-limited, but the axial resolution can be very high
since it is determined by the bandwidth of the source. Another important area of
applications is represented by imaging through strongly scattering media. Such
approaches as ghost imaging, wavefront shaping, speckle imaging using time
reversal of light, and sparse imaging were developed in this field. One more
approach to super-resolution LFM imaging is offered by a superoscillation lens. All
these approaches are relevant to the subject of this book, but they are not included
in this book.
Due to its logical organizational structure, this book can be used as a teaching
tool in the graduate and upper division undergraduate-level courses devoted to
super-resolved microscopy, nanoscale imaging, microscopy instrumentation, and
biomedical imaging. In addition, this book can be used as a text for a seminar
course on this subject where particular chapters can be selected for focused presentations by students aimed at understanding the super-resolution mechanisms and
corresponding microscopy tools. In a wider sense, this book provides a snapshot of
this rapidly evolving field and it can be used by students and researches who would
like to learn about the main advancements in this area in their historical perspective.
The introductions to all chapters are particularly useful in this regard.
This book naturally stemmed from a series of special sessions and workshops on
Label-Free Super-Resolution Microscopy, which I organized at PQE-2016 and
2017, IEEE Photonics-2017, and ICTON-2017, 2018, and 2019 conferences.
I would like to thank all the authors who submitted their chapters, including participants of these sessions as well as the authors who did not participate in these
viii
Preface
followed by the diffraction in air, and different types of hyperlenses using metamaterials with the hyperbolic dispersion relations including an example of hyperstructured illumination presented in Chap. 14.
The last three chapters of the book describe imaging of nanoscale objects
through contact dielectric microlenses, namely dielectric microspheres. A detailed
review of such methods can be found in Chap. 15. A review of corresponding
theoretical mechanisms is presented in Chap. 16. A combination of these methods
with interferometric detection schemes is represented in Chap. 17. The resolution
of these methods is expected to be limited by the solid immersion lens concept, but,
in fact, the use of nanoplasmonic objects or plasmonic metasurfaces resonantly
coupled to such objects can increase the resolution beyond the solid immersion lens
limit. The applications of such methods are stimulated by their simplicity combined
with the easiness of their integration with the whole arsenal of other
super-resolution techniques, leading to even higher resolution values which can be
obtained in future studies.
Although the scope of this book is rather broad, some of the super-resolution
LFM methods related to information theory used in combination with novel ways
of illumination of samples and/or collection of the optical information are not
included in this book. The method with a significant application in ophthalmology
is represented by ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) where
the lateral resolution is diffraction-limited, but the axial resolution can be very high
since it is determined by the bandwidth of the source. Another important area of
applications is represented by imaging through strongly scattering media. Such
approaches as ghost imaging, wavefront shaping, speckle imaging using time
reversal of light, and sparse imaging were developed in this field. One more
approach to super-resolution LFM imaging is offered by a superoscillation lens. All
these approaches are relevant to the subject of this book, but they are not included
in this book.
Due to its logical organizational structure, this book can be used as a teaching
tool in the graduate and upper division undergraduate-level courses devoted to
super-resolved microscopy, nanoscale imaging, microscopy instrumentation, and
biomedical imaging. In addition, this book can be used as a text for a seminar
course on this subject where particular chapters can be selected for focused presentations by students aimed at understanding the super-resolution mechanisms and
corresponding microscopy tools. In a wider sense, this book provides a snapshot of
this rapidly evolving field and it can be used by students and researches who would
like to learn about the main advancements in this area in their historical perspective.
The introductions to all chapters are particularly useful in this regard.
This book naturally stemmed from a series of special sessions and workshops on
Label-Free Super-Resolution Microscopy, which I organized at PQE-2016 and
2017, IEEE Photonics-2017, and ICTON-2017, 2018, and 2019 conferences.
I would like to thank all the authors who submitted their chapters, including participants of these sessions as well as the authors who did not participate in these
viii
Preface