Localized plasmon assisted structured illumination microscopy for wide-field high-speed dispersion-independent super resolution imaging

A new super resolution imaging method, i.e. Localized Plasmon assisted Structured Illumination Microscopy (LPSIM), is proposed. LPSIM uses an array of localized plasmonic antennas to provide dynamically tunable near-field excitations resulting in finely structured illumination patterns, independent of any propagating surface plasmon dispersion limitations. The illumination pattern feature sizes are limited only by the antenna geometry, and a far-field image resolved far beyond the diffraction limit is obtained. This approach maintains a wide field of view and the capacity for a high frame-rate. The recovered images for various classes of objects are presented, demonstrating a significant resolution improvement over existing methods. Fluorescent imaging resolution down to 51 nm is shown by generating tunable localized plasmon excitations on a nano-antenna array.