Wide-field extended-resolution fluorescence microscopy with standing surface-plasmon-resonance waves

Abstract

The resolution of conventional surface-plasmon-resonance (SPR) imaging has been limited by the diffraction nature of light. A wide-field extended-resolution optical imaging technique, standing-wave SPR fluorescence (SW-SPRF) microscopy, has been developed. Based on evanescent SPR standing waves, SW-SPRF provides lateral resolution approaching 100 nm and offers the advantages of significant signal enhancement and background-noise reduction. SW-SPRF has the potential for sensitive biomolecular detection, nanoscale imaging, and lithographic applications.