Compact and low-cost structured illumination microscopy using an optical fiber coupler

TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact, cost-effective structured illumination microscopy system using a fiber coupler, achieving high-resolution imaging with a simple setup and efficient illumination.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel SIM design based on a 2X2 fiber coupler, offering a low-cost, compact alternative to traditional SLM-based systems with high power efficiency.

Findings

Achieves high-resolution images with a simple fiber-based setup.

Offers a shorter illumination path and higher power efficiency.

Demonstrates comparable imaging performance to traditional systems.

Abstract

In this paper, a compact and low-cost structured illumination microscope (SIM) based on a 2X2 fiber coupler is presented. Fringe illumination is achieved by placing two output fiber tips at a conjugate Fourier plane of the sample plane as the point sources. Raw structured illumination (SI) images in different pattern orientations are captured when rotating the fiber mount. Following this, high resolution images are reconstructed from no-phase-shift raw SI images by using a joint Richardson-Lucy (jRL) deconvolution algorithm. Compared with an SLM-based SIM system, our method provides a much shorter illumination path, high power efficiency, and low cost.