Biocompatible Nanotomography of Tightly Focused Light
At a Glance
Section titled āAt a Glanceā| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2022-02-17 |
| Journal | Nano Letters |
| Authors | Qi Zhang, Jun Yin, Yihao Yan, Sanyou Chen, Bingyan Wei |
| Institutions | Xiāan Jiaotong University, Hefei National Center for Physical Sciences at Nanoscale |
| Citations | 7 |
Abstract
Section titled āAbstractāTightly focusing a spatially modulated laser beam lays the foundations for advanced optical techniques, such as a holographic optical tweezer and deterministic super-resolution imaging. Precisely mapping the subwavelength features of those highly confined fields is critical to improving the spatial resolution, especially in highly scattering biotissues. However, current techniques characterizing focal fields are mostly limited to conditions such as under a vacuum and on a glass surface. An optical probe with low cytotoxicity and resistance to autofluorescence is the key to achieving in vivo applications. Here, we use a newly emerging quantum reference beacon, the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in the nanodiamond, to characterize the focal field of the near-infrared (NIR) laser focus in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> (<i>C. elegans</i>). This biocompatible background-free focal field mapping technique has the potential to optimize in vivo optical imaging and manipulation.