Acoustofluidic Scanning Nanoscope with High Resolution and Large Field of View
Geonsoo Jin, Hunter Bachman, Ty Naquin, Joseph Rufo, Serena Hou, Zhenhua Tian, Chenglong Zhao, Tony Jun Huang
Abstract
Optical imaging with nanoscale resolution and a large field of view is highly desirable in many research areas. Unfortunately, it is challenging to achieve these two features simultaneously while using a conventional microscope. An objective lens with a low numerical aperture (NA) has a large field of view but poor resolution. In contrast, a high NA objective lens will have a higher resolution but reduced field of view. In an effort to close the gap between these trade-offs, we introduce an acoustofluidic scanning nanoscope (AS-nanoscope) that can simultaneously achieve high resolution with a large field of view. The AS-nanoscope relies on acoustofluidic-assisted scanning of multiple microsized particles. A scanned 2D image is then compiled by processing the microparticle images using an automated big-data image algorithm. The AS-nanoscope has the potential to be integrated into a conventional microscope or could serve as a stand-alone instrument for a wide range of applications where both high resolution and large field of view are required.