Diffraction limited focusing with controllable arbitrary three-dimensional polarization

We propose a new approach that enables full control over the three-dimensional state of polarization and the field distribution near the focus of a high numerical aperture objective lens. By combining the electric dipole radiation and a vectorial diffraction method, the input field at the pupil plane for generating arbitrary three-dimensionally oriented linear polarization at the focal point with a diffraction limited spot size is found analytically by solving the inverse problem. Arbitrary three-dimensional elliptical polarization can be obtained by introducing a second electric dipole oriented in the orthogonal plane with appropriate amplitude and phase differences.

[1]  Tsang,et al.  Optical third-harmonic generation at interfaces. , 1995, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[2]  M. R. Freeman,et al.  Direct Observation of Magnetic Relaxation in a Small Permalloy Disk by Time-Resolved Scanning Kerr Microscopy , 1997 .

[3]  Tasso R. M. Sales,et al.  Smallest Focal Spot , 1998 .

[4]  S Saghafi,et al.  Transverse-electric and transverse-magnetic beam modes beyond the paraxial approximation. , 1999, Optics letters.

[5]  Andreas Volkmer,et al.  Theoretical and experimental characterization of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy , 2002 .

[6]  Chun Ye,et al.  Construction of an optical rotator using quarter-wave plates and an optical retarder , 1995 .

[7]  M. Neil,et al.  Laser scanning confocal microscope with programmable amplitude, phase, and polarization of the illumination beam. , 2009, The Review of scientific instruments.

[8]  R. Oldenbourg,et al.  New polarized light microscope with precision universal compensator , 1995, Journal of microscopy.

[9]  Luping Shi,et al.  Creation of a needle of longitudinally polarized light in vacuum using binary optics , 2008 .

[10]  S. Hell,et al.  Breaking the diffraction resolution limit by stimulated emission: stimulated-emission-depletion fluorescence microscopy. , 1994, Optics letters.

[11]  A. Ashkin,et al.  History of optical trapping and manipulation of small-neutral particle, atoms, and molecules , 2000, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[12]  E. Wolf,et al.  Electromagnetic diffraction in optical systems, II. Structure of the image field in an aplanatic system , 1959, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[13]  Q. Zhan Cylindrical vector beams: from mathematical concepts to applications , 2009 .

[14]  J. Maguire,et al.  Nano-Raman spectroscopy with side-illumination optics , 2005 .

[15]  Gerd Leuchs,et al.  Focusing light to a tighter spot , 2000 .

[16]  X. Xie,et al.  Near-field fluorescence microscopy based on two-photon excitation with metal tips , 1999 .

[17]  Z. Bomzon,et al.  Radially and azimuthally polarized beams generated by space-variant dielectric subwavelength gratings. , 2002, Optics letters.

[18]  M. Gu,et al.  Advanced Optical Imaging Theory , 1999 .

[19]  S. Hell Far-Field Optical Nanoscopy , 2007, Science.

[20]  Qiwen Zhan,et al.  Microellipsometer with radial symmetry. , 2002, Applied optics.

[21]  Riccardo Borghi,et al.  Highly focused spirally polarized beams. , 2005, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.

[22]  T G Brown,et al.  Longitudinal field modes probed by single molecules. , 2001, Physical review letters.

[23]  Satoshi Kawata,et al.  Nanoscale characterization of strained silicon by tip-enhanced Raman spectroscope in reflection mode , 2006 .

[24]  Ji-Xin Cheng,et al.  Green’s function formulation for third-harmonic generation microscopy , 2002 .

[25]  E. Wolf,et al.  Electromagnetic diffraction in optical systems - I. An integral representation of the image field , 1959, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[26]  A. Meixner,et al.  Tighter focusing with a parabolic mirror. , 2008, Optics letters.

[27]  C. Sheppard,et al.  Optimal Concentration of Electromagnetic Radiation , 1994 .

[28]  Kimani C Toussaint,et al.  Three-dimensional polarization control in microscopy. , 2006, Physical review letters.

[29]  J. Fourkas,et al.  Rapid determination of the three-dimensional orientation of single molecules. , 2001, Optics letters.

[30]  G Leuchs,et al.  Sharper focus for a radially polarized light beam. , 2003, Physical review letters.

[31]  Colin J. R. Sheppard,et al.  Second harmonic generation polarization microscopy with tightly focused linearly and radially polarized beams , 2007 .

[32]  Jianping Ding,et al.  Generation of arbitrary vector beams with a spatial light modulator and a common path interferometric arrangement. , 2007, Optics letters.

[33]  Lukas Novotny,et al.  Programmable vector point-spread function engineering. , 2006, Optics express.

[34]  H. Rubinsztein-Dunlop,et al.  Optical alignment and spinning of laser-trapped microscopic particles , 1998, Nature.