Analytical description of high-aperture STED resolution with 0-2 pi vortex phase modulation

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Hao Xie, Peking University; Yujia Liu, Peking University; Dayong Jin, Macquarie University; Philip J. Santangelo, Emory University; Peng Xi, Peking University
• Language: English
• Date: 2013-08-01
• Publisher: Optical Society of America
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2013 Optical Society of America.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/JOSAA.30.001640
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of the Optical Society of America A
• ISSN: 1084-7529
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 8
• Start Page: 1640
• End Page: 1645
• Grant/Funding Information: This research is supported by the “973” Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2011CB809101, 2010CB933901, and 2011CB707502) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61178076).
• Keywords: Physical Sciences; STIMULATED-EMISSION; ELECTROMAGNETIC DIFFRACTION; FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY; Science & Technology; CENTERS; LIGHT; OPTICAL SYSTEMS; IMAGE FIELD; PERFORMANCE; Optics; DEPLETION; PATTERNS
• Research Categories: Physics, Optics

Abstract

Stimulated emission depletion (STED) can achieve optical superresolution, with the optical diffraction limit broken by the suppression on the periphery of the fluorescent focal spot. Previously, it is generally experimentally accepted that there exists an inverse square root relationship with the STED power and the resolution, but with arbitrary coefficients in expression. In this paper, we have removed the arbitrary coefficients by exploring the relationship between the STED power and the achievable resolution from vector optical theory for the widely used 0-2π vortex phase modulation. Electromagnetic fields of the focal region of a high numerical aperture objective are calculated and approximated into polynomials of radius in the focal plane, and analytical expression of resolution as a function of the STED intensity has been derived. As a result, the resolution can be estimated directly from the measurement of the saturation power of the dye and the STED power applied in the region of high STED power.