A New Approach to Optical Microscopy of Sub-Wavelength Diffraction Structures: Shape Reconstruction from Ellipsometric Back-Focal-Plane Data

亚波长衍射结构光学显微镜的新方法：根据椭圆后焦平面数据进行形状重建

• 批准号: 0218200
• 负责人: Michael Yeung
• 金额: $ 5.66万
• 依托单位: Trustees of Boston University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-01 至 2003-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0218200&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: New; Approach; Optical; Microscopy; Sub

The objective of the proposed project is to use computer simulation to study the feasibility of a new type of optical microscope for measuring the sizes and shapes of three-dimensional objects whose dimensions are smaller than the wavelength of the light employed. Conventional optical microscope based on measurement of the intensity distribution on the image plane is not capable of resolving spatial details much smaller than about one wavelength. The proposed optical microscope, however, is based on ellipsometric measurements of the electric field scattered by an object onto the back focal plane of the objective lens. The ellipsometric data allow the relative phases among different components of the Jones matrix of the optical system to be computed. This phase information is then used to determine the shape of the object by solving an electromagnetic inverse problem.The proposed microscope idea should be of great scientific interest, since the technique of using the phase information obtained from back-focal-plane ellipsometric measurements for object shape reconstruction is novel. Also, the proposed method is insensitive to positioning and focus errors of the sample, which is an important consideration if the method is to be applied to solving metrology problems in industry.The proposed feasibility study will consist of using computer simulation to generate hypothetical data, which will then he used to test the convergence and robustness of various numerical algorithms for solving the electromagnetic inverse problem of shape reconstruction from the hypothetical data. In the process of carrying out the feasibility study, the graduate student involved will gain in-depth knowledge of optical imaging theory and firsthand experience with various numerical methods of electromagnetic. As such, the proposed project should be of great value in the education of graduate students interested in working in an interdisciplinary area involving both optics and electromagnetics. Also, if the results of the feasibility study appear promising, future research projects may he initiated to test the proposed microscope idea experimentally

拟议项目的目的是利用计算机模拟研究一种新型光学显微镜的可行性，用于测量尺寸小于所用光波长的三维物体的尺寸和形状。传统的光学显微镜基于测量像平面上的强度分布，不能分辨远小于一个波长的空间细节。然而，所提出的光学显微镜是基于由物体散射到物镜透镜的后焦平面上的电场的椭偏测量。椭圆偏振数据允许计算光学系统的琼斯矩阵的不同分量之间的相对相位。这个相位信息，然后被用来确定物体的形状，通过解决电磁逆problem.The提出的显微镜的想法应该是很大的科学兴趣，因为使用后焦平面椭偏测量物体形状重建的相位信息的技术是新颖的。此外，建议的方法对样品的定位和聚焦误差不敏感，如果该方法被应用于解决工业中的计量问题，这是一个重要的考虑因素。建议的可行性研究将包括使用计算机模拟来产生假设数据，然后，将其用于测试用于求解形状的电磁逆问题的各种数值算法的收敛性和鲁棒性。从假设的数据中重建。在进行可行性研究的过程中，研究生将获得光学成像理论的深入知识和各种电磁数值方法的第一手经验。因此，拟议的项目应该是非常有价值的研究生教育有兴趣在一个跨学科领域的工作，涉及光学和电磁学。此外，如果可行性研究的结果似乎有希望，未来的研究项目可能会启动，以测试实验提出的显微镜的想法