Confocal line-scanning microscope with modified illumination

Abstract

A modified illumination-based method has been proposed to improve resolution of a confocal line-scanning system by 20%. Phase-only apodization is applied to the illumination and combined with confocal detection. The method was studied both theoretically and experimentally. Measurements were performed on silver nanospheres as subresolution test samples, and the captured data were analyzed to determine the modulation transfer function and ultimately the spatial resolution of the system.