Lecture

Microscopy Resolution: Understanding Rayleigh Criteria

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In course

MICRO-561: Fundamentals of biomicroscopy

Introduction to the basic operational principles of the most commonly used optical microscopes such as widefield and fluorescence.
Introduction to essential microscopy components such as lenses, objectives, filters, cameras and light sources. ...

Description

This lecture covers the determination of microscopy resolution using Abbe's theory and Rayleigh criterion, focusing on the point spread function and diffraction-limited spot size. It explains how to improve resolution by increasing aperture size and reducing wavelength.

Instructors (2)

Arne Seitz

04/1996-06/2000 Scientific co-worker at Philipps-University of Marburg, Dep. of Physical Chemistry 07/2000-10/2002 Post Doc at Max-Planck Unit for Structural Molecular Biology in Hamburg 11/2002-11/2005 Post Doc at European Molecular Biolohy Laboratory (EMBL), Cell Biology and Cell Biophysics Programme 11/2005-03/2009 Staff Scientist at Advanced Light Microscopy Facility, EMBL 04/2009- Head of Bioimaging and Optics platforme (BIOP), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

Hatice Altug

2020-current Full Professor at the Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Switzerland2013-2020 Associate Professor (with tenure) at the Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Switzerland 2013 Associate Professor (with tenure) at Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of Boston University, USA 2007-2013 Assistant Professor (tenure-track) at Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of Boston University, USA 2007 Post-doctoral Fellow at Center for Engineering in Medicine of Harvard Medical School, USA 2000-2007 PhD. in Applied Physics at Stanford University, USA 1996-2000 B.S. in Physics at Bilkent University, Turkey

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Fraunhofer diffraction

In optics, the Fraunhofer diffraction equation is used to model the diffraction of waves when plane waves are incident on a diffracting object, and the diffraction pattern is viewed at a sufficiently long distance (a distance satisfying Fraunhofer condition) from the object (in the far-field region), and also when it is viewed at the focal plane of an imaging lens. In contrast, the diffraction pattern created near the diffracting object and (in the near field region) is given by the Fresnel diffraction equation.

Fresnel diffraction

In optics, the Fresnel diffraction equation for near-field diffraction is an approximation of the Kirchhoff–Fresnel diffraction that can be applied to the propagation of waves in the near field. It is used to calculate the diffraction pattern created by waves passing through an aperture or around an object, when viewed from relatively close to the object. In contrast the diffraction pattern in the far field region is given by the Fraunhofer diffraction equation. The near field can be specified by the Fresnel number, F, of the optical arrangement.

Diffraction from slits

Diffraction processes affecting waves are amenable to quantitative description and analysis. Such treatments are applied to a wave passing through one or more slits whose width is specified as a proportion of the wavelength. Numerical approximations may be used, including the Fresnel and Fraunhofer approximations. Because diffraction is the result of addition of all waves (of given wavelength) along all unobstructed paths, the usual procedure is to consider the contribution of an infinitesimally small neighborhood around a certain path (this contribution is usually called a wavelet) and then integrate over all paths (= add all wavelets) from the source to the detector (or given point on a screen).

Fourier series

A Fourier series (ˈfʊrieɪ,_-iər) is an expansion of a periodic function into a sum of trigonometric functions. The Fourier series is an example of a trigonometric series, but not all trigonometric series are Fourier series. By expressing a function as a sum of sines and cosines, many problems involving the function become easier to analyze because trigonometric functions are well understood. For example, Fourier series were first used by Joseph Fourier to find solutions to the heat equation.

Fourier transform

In physics and mathematics, the Fourier transform (FT) is a transform that converts a function into a form that describes the frequencies present in the original function. The output of the transform is a complex-valued function of frequency. The term Fourier transform refers to both this complex-valued function and the mathematical operation. When a distinction needs to be made the Fourier transform is sometimes called the frequency domain representation of the original function.

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