Science.-New optical chips for high contrast images

Madrid, 7 (European Press)

Chinese researchers have developed a flat angular transmission adapted optical chip for obtaining high-contrast optical microscopic images.

Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China found that by using a custom angular transmission flat photonic chip as the base sample, bright-field microscopy can provide dark-field and total internal reflection (TIR) ​​microscopy images with experimental trial. Accommodation.

Bright field microscopy is one of the simplest optical microscopes, which uses rays of light to produce a dark image against a bright background. However, limitations of bright-field microscopy include low contrast of poorly absorbed samples and low resolution due to the duller appearance of out-of-focus materials.

Although dark-field microscopy and TIR microscopy can solve the problem of low contrast, they require complex optical elements that are difficult to integrate and operate due to their large size.

The new flat-panel optical chip eliminates the need for a bulky capacitor or special target to perform dark-field or TIR illumination. Thus, it could serve as a high-contrast microimaging device for the development of compact and versatile microscopes, according to a research paper published in Nature Communications.

The optical chip is simple in structure, easy to integrate, low cost and easy to operate, said Zhang Duogu, the research team leader and university professor, quoting Xinhua as saying that it can be applied to produce images of both samples in the air. and living cells in a liquid medium.