Structured illumination microscopy using synthesized beams

Optical microscopy plays an important role in biological research due to the possibility of non-contact observation and measurement of living samples. However, conventional optical microscopy has limitations. Due to the diffraction limit, its spatial resolution is about 200 nm. The use of structured illumination increases the spatial resolution by more than 2 times, and the addition of polarization control makes it possible to expand the system's capabilities for studying anisotropic transparent and opaque objects. Moreover, three dimensional image of an object can be obtained using structured illumination. The latest advances in laser technology allow us to propose a new approach to formation of structured illumination. This article shows numerically the possibility of using structured illumination microscopy with synthesized beams for the first time. The source of the light is a coherent laser array that allows controlling the distribution of phase, amplitude, and polarization of the beam. Unlike the coherent combining method, the proposed experimental scheme does not need a feedback loop for phase stabilization. The target surface being studied was modeled numerically, and the well-known SIM SR algorithm was applied to enhance the resolution. The application of this approach to structured illumination microscopy tasks reduces the cost of microscope design and increases the speed of object measurement.