Stripe-shaped apertures in confocal microscopy

Abstract

We have theoretically verified that, compared with the aperture shapes of previous research, combining two stripe-shaped apertures in a confocal microscope with a finite-sized pinhole improves the axial resolution to a certain extent. Because different stripe shapes cause different effects, we also investigated the relationships among resolution, shapes, pinhole size, and the signal-to-background ratio.

Numerical Studies of Divided Aperture Techniques in Confocal System

“…Divided aperture technique (DAT) refers to designing the shape of aperture based on the principle of angular gating. Previous studies have shown that using appropriate shape of apertures can help eliminate scattered light [1] [2]. People can control the degree of filtration by adjusting the size of the aperture.…”

Three-dimensional resolution-enhancement divided aperture correlation-differential confocal microscopy with nanometer axial focusing capability

“…To improve the field of view, optical section depth, and anti-scattering capability of a CM, a confocal microscopy imaging method based on the symmetrical lateral offset illumination and lateral offset detection has been proposed [8]. Using this method, divided aperture confocal microscopy (DACM) [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16], confocal theta microscopy (CTM) [17][18][19][20], and dual-axis confocal microscopy (DCM) [21][22][23][24][25][26] have been developed for different requirements.…”

“…DACM partially shields the illumination and detection paths and improves the point spread function (PSF) of the microscope by using semicircular pupils in both the illumination and detection paths, thus enhancing the optical sectioning and anti-scattering capabilities [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Typical divided-aperture techniques used in DACM include D-shaped pupils [9][10][11][12], slit divided apertures [14], stripe-shaped apertures, and fan-shaped apertures [16].…”

Optimization for imaging through scattering media for confocal microscopes with divided elliptical apertures

“…To further improve the background rejection while not increasing the system complexity, the divided apertures can be employed in confocal microscopy, where the illumination beam passes through 1 aperture, while the detection beam passes through the other [1][2][3][4]. The pattern of the divided apertures can be various, including 2 D-shaped apertures, annular apertures [8], 1 annular and 1 circular apertures [9,10], quadrant apertures [11] and stripe apertures [12]. Therefore, by introducing the angular gating mechanism, this kind of microscopy can further reject the out-of-focus light.…”

“…Therefore, by introducing the angular gating mechanism, this kind of microscopy can further reject the out-of-focus light. The pattern of the divided apertures can be various, including 2 D-shaped apertures, annular apertures [8], 1 annular and 1 circular apertures [9,10], quadrant apertures [11] and stripe apertures [12]. Among these aperture patterns, D-shaped apertures (segments of circulars) were first implemented and can be optimized by adjusting the divider distance.…”