Fourier plane imaging microscopy

Abstract

We show how the image of an unresolved photonic crystal can be reconstructed using a single Fourier plane (FP) image obtained with a second camera that was added to a traditional compound microscope. We discuss how Fourier plane imaging microscopy is an application of a remarkable property of the obtained FP images: they contain more information about the photonic crystals than the images recorded by the camera commonly placed at the real plane of the microscope. We argue that the experimental results support the hypothesis that surface waves, contributing to enhanced resolution abilities, were optically excited in the studied photonic crystals.