METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR ENHANCED INTERFEROMETRIC DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SINGLE PARTICLES VIA THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE REGISTRATION

Presented herein are systems and methods for analyzing images of target particles that are bound to a surface of a substrate. In certain embodiments, systems and method described herein utilize techniques that remove background noise from interferometric images of small particles, allowing for increased accuracy in detection and/or characterization of individual particles. Such techniques, as described herein, may allow individual particles having sizes below about 100 nm (e.g., below about 50 nm; e.g., down to 20 nm) to be accurately detected within images, and, among other things, their characteristic sizes measured utilizing, e.g., their contrast.