US 10,883,939 B2Granted

Imaging apparatus and method for imaging an object

AssigneeImec Vzw

InventorsPol Van Dorpe, Niels Verellen

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Abstract

An imaging apparatus comprises: (i) an illumination waveguide configured to propagate light by total internal reflection, wherein an evanescent field illuminates an object in close relation to the illumination waveguide; (ii) an array of light-sensitive areas arranged on a common substrate with the illumination waveguide for detecting light from the object; and (iii) a controller configured to control forming of an interference pattern in the illumination waveguide, wherein the interference pattern comprises at least one element of constructive interference for selectively illuminating a portion of the object, the at least one element having a dimension with a size in a range of 100 nm-10 μm; wherein the controller is configured to sequentially change the interference pattern in relation to the object such that different portions are illuminated and light from different portions is sequentially detected.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An imaging apparatus comprising:

an illumination waveguide configured to propagate one or more light waves by total internal reflection, wherein an evanescent field of the propagated light wave is configured to illuminate an object in close relation to the illumination waveguide;
an array of light-sensitive areas configured to detect light from the object, wherein the array of light-sensitive areas is arranged on a common substrate with the illumination waveguide;
and
a controller configured to control forming of an interference pattern in the illumination waveguide by the one or more light waves being propagated therein, wherein the interference pattern comprises at least one element of constructive interference for selectively illuminating a portion of the object, the at least one element having a dimension with a size in a range of 100 nm-10 μm, wherein the controller is configured to sequentially change the interference pattern in relation to the object such that different portions are illuminated, and wherein the array of light-sensitive areas is configured to sequentially detect light from different portions of the object.

1 more element

A method for imaging of an object, the method comprising:

transporting one or more light waves by total internal reflection through an illumination waveguide for illuminating an object in close relation to the illumination waveguide by an evanescent field of the one or more light waves, wherein the one or more light waves form an interference pattern in the illumination waveguide, the interference pattern comprising at least one element of constrictive interference for selectively illuminating a portion of the object to define a resolution of imaging, the at least one element having a dimension with a size in a range of 100 nm-10 μm;
receiving light from the object by an array of light-sensitive areas, wherein the array of light-sensitive areas is arranged on a common substrate with the illumination waveguide such that the array of light-sensitive areas is configured to receive light from a first portion of the object;
and
changing the interference pattern in relation to the object such that different portions of the object are illuminated and the array of light-sensitive areas detects light from different portions of the object.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/442,484Filed 15 Jun 2019
Priority: EP 1817790715 Jun 2018
Published: US 2019/0383743 A119 Dec 2019
Granted: 5 Jan 2021
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification14 codes

G01N 21/6458
Spatial resolved fluorescence measurements; Imaging: fluorescence microscopy
G01N 15/0227
By optical means: using imaging; using holography
G01N 21/6456
Specially adapted constructive features of fluorimeters: spatial resolved fluorescence measurements; Imaging
G01N 21/648
Specially adapted constructive features of fluorimeters: using evanescent coupling or surface plasmon coupling for the excitation of fluorescence