Exploiting evanescent-wave amplification for subwavelength low-contrast particle detection

The classical problem of subwavelength particle detection on a flat surface is especially challenging when the refractive index of the particle is close to that of the substrate. We demonstrate a method to improve the detection ability several times for such a situation, by enhancing the "forbidden" evanescent waves in the substrate using the...

Demonstration of an optimised focal field with long focal depth and high transmission obtained with the Extended Nijboer-Zernike theory

In several optical systems, a specific Point Spread Function (PSF) needs to be generated. This can be achieved by shaping the complex field at the pupil. The Extended Nijboer-Zernike (ENZ) theory relates complex Zernike modes on the pupil directly to functions in the focal region. In this paper, we introduce a method to engineer a PSF using the...

Experimental techniques for aberration retrieval with through-focus intensity images

Measurement techniques to determine the aberration of an optical system, by obtaining through-focus intensity images that are produced when the object is a point source at infinity, are shown. The analysis of the aberrations is made using the extended version of the Nijboer-Zernike diffraction theory. This theory provides a semi analytical...