Integrated photonic chip for structured light pattern generation in microscopy

Generating structured illumination patterns is crucial for various state-of-the-art optical microscopy techniques, including Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM). However, current patterns generation methods, often based on diffraction gratings or spatial light modulators, are often slow, bulky, or highly sensitive to the alignment, which hinders their widespread adoption. We propose an integrated, monolithic device created on a glass substrate using Femtosecond Laser Micromachining. This device can generate and move a highly stable structured pattern across the detection plane of a microscope, and enables widefield microscopes to perform SIM thanks to its simple use as an add-on.