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Plasmon-induced enhancement of ptychographic phase microscopy via sub-surface nanoaperture arrays

Nature Photonics volume 15, pages 222–229 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

The invention of phase contrast microscopy revolutionized optics, enabling the visualization of highly optically transparent samples without the need for staining. The technique utilizes phase shifts within the sample and is routinely employed in the characterization of biological material and other weakly interacting objects. However, the demand for increased contrast and quantification has continued to drive research into more advanced approaches to phase imaging. Here, we demonstrate that the combination of ptychographic coherent diffractive imaging with plasmonically active metamaterials yields a massive enhancement of both the reconstructed phase and amplitude by exploiting near-field interactions at the metamaterial surface. We present results from nanofabricated samples and tissue sections with thickness ranging from 4 nm to 4 μm. In addition to enabling quantitative phase imaging of metamaterials, this approach opens the way to imaging a wide range of extremely thin or highly transparent objects previously inaccessible to optical microscopy.

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Fig. 1: Principles and experimental set-up for PE-ptychography.
Fig. 2: Comparison of conventional ptychography and PE-ptychography reconstructions.
Fig. 3: Simulated amplitude and phase contrast predicted for the nanofabricated chevrons.
Fig. 4: Reconstructions of ocular nerve tissue.
Fig. 5: Imaging of 4-μm-thick sections of breast tissue, comparing four different techniques.

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Data availability

The data that support the plots and figures within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Code availability

The code used to generate the figures within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge support from the Australian Research Council through the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging and fellowship funding from the Victorian Cancer Agency (B.S.P.). B.A. acknowledges support from the La Trobe Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology (BEST) Research Centre. This work was performed in part at the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) in the Victorian Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: E. Balaur, G. A. Cadenazzi.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Advanced Molecular Imaging, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Eugeniu Balaur, Guido A. Cadenazzi & Brian Abbey

  2. Nanophysics & NIC@IIT, Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy

    Nicholas Anthony

  3. Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    Alex Spurling & Belinda S. Parker

  4. Ian Holmes Imaging Center, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    Eric Hanssen

  5. Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    Eric Hanssen

  6. Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Jacqueline Orian & Belinda S. Parker

  7. Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    Keith A. Nugent

  8. Research Division, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Belinda S. Parker

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Contributions

B.A. conceived the initial idea. B.A., G.A.C. and E.B. are responsible for the conceptual design. B.S.P. was responsible for the design and management of cancer histological studies. G.A.C. undertook the experimental demonstration. E.B. produced the fabricated samples and performed the FEM simulations. N.A. assisted with experiments. E.H. prepared the biological samples and microtome slices. J.O. and A.S. prepared the biological samples. B.A. directed the project. K.A.N. discussed the results. B.A., G.A.C., E.B., B.S.P., N.A., E.H., J.O., A.S. and K.A.N. discussed the results and contributed to the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Brian Abbey.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Peer review information Nature Photonics thanks Karsten Holldack, Jianwei Miao and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Balaur, E., Cadenazzi, G.A., Anthony, N. et al. Plasmon-induced enhancement of ptychographic phase microscopy via sub-surface nanoaperture arrays. Nat. Photonics 15, 222–229 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-020-00752-0

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