Unified simulation platform for interference microscopy

TL;DR

This paper introduces a comprehensive simulation platform for interferometric scattering microscopy, enabling accurate modeling of complex sample geometries and imaging conditions, which aids in designing and interpreting microscopy experiments.

Contribution

The authors develop a numerical toolbox that simulates interferometric scattering microscopy images using boundary element and vectorial models, supporting arbitrary geometries and substrate structures.

Findings

Simulations match experimental results across various scatterer shapes.

Contrast enhancement observed near Brewster angle could improve nanosensing.

The Matlab toolbox facilitates advanced microscopy analysis.

Abstract

Interferometric scattering microscopy is a powerful technique that enables various applications, such as mass photometry and particle tracking. Here we present a numerical toolbox to simulate images obtained in interferometric scattering, coherent bright-field, and dark-field microscopy. The scattered fields are calculated using a boundary element method, facilitating the simulation of arbitrary sample geometries and substrate layer structures. A fully vectorial model is used for simulating the imaging setup. We demonstrate excellent agreement between our simulations and experiments for different shapes of scatterers and excitation angles. Notably, for angles near the Brewster angle, we observe a contrast enhancement which may be beneficial for nanosensing applications. The software is available as a Matlab toolbox.