Structured Illumination Fluorescence Microscopy: Diffraction-Limit Breaking Principle and Application in Life Science

Abstract

Resolution of traditional fluorescence microscopy is limited by the diffraction of light. Diffraction limit can be broken by structured illumination to get higher resolution. Compared to other super-resolution microscopy techniques, structured illumination fluorescence microscopy can achieve higher imaging speed and need a simple setup, which has an important application life science research. In this paper, we first illustrate the principle and reconstruction algorithm to obtain 2D and 3D super-resolution images as well as non-linear structured illumination. Then the generally used structured illumination method and setup based on grating, spatial light modulator (SLM) as well as digital micro-mirror device (DMD) are introduced and compared. At last we summarize the application of structured illumination fluorescence microscopy for observing biological structures and processes.