Systems, apparatuses, and methods for optical focusing in scattering samples

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10648934-B2
Application number	US-201916250524-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 17, 2019
Priority date	Jan 17, 2018
Publication date	May 12, 2020
Grant date	May 12, 2020

Abstract

A method includes applying, to a sample exhibiting optical scattering and having a emission particles distributed therein that exhibit spin-dependent fluorescence, a magnetic field to shift a resonance frequency of each emission particle in a position-dependent manner. The method also includes exciting the sample with an excitation beam that causes at least one emission particle to emit spin-dependent fluorescence and detecting the emitted spin-dependent fluorescence. The method also includes estimating a position of the emission particle(s) within the sample based on the spin-dependent fluorescence, the resonance frequency, and the magnetic field. The method also includes estimating optical transmission information for the sample based on a wavefront of the excitation beam and the estimated position. The optical transmission information including a measure of an optical field at each position of an emission particle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
applying, to a sample exhibiting optical scattering and having a plurality of emission particles distributed therein that exhibit spin-dependent fluorescence, a magnetic field to shift a resonance frequency of each emission particle of the plurality of emission particles in a position-dependent manner;
exciting the sample with an excitation beam, such that the excitation beam causes at least one of the plurality of emission particles to emit spin-dependent fluorescence;
detecting the spin-dependent fluorescence emitted by at least one of the plurality of emission particles;
estimating a position of the at least one of the plurality of emission particles within the sample based on the spin-dependent fluorescence, the resonance frequency of the at least one of the plurality of emission particles, and the magnetic field; and
estimating optical transmission information for the sample based on a wavefront of the excitation beam and the estimated position, the optical transmission information including a measure of an optical field at each position of an emission particle of the plurality of emission particles.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying, to the plurality of emission particles, a microwave signal to modulate a spin state of at least one of the plurality of emission particles.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein each emission particle of the plurality of emission particles includes a solid-state quantum emitter.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the solid-state quantum emitter is a diamond nanocrystal having a nitrogen vacancy color center.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the magnetic field has a gradient, such that the applying the magnetic field shifts the resonance frequency of each emission particle based on the position of that emission particle within the sample.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the magnetic field has a constant magnitude or a constant gradient, and wherein the applying the magnetic field shifts the resonance frequency of each emission particle of the plurality of emission particles based on the position and an orientation of that emission particle within the sample.

7. The method of claim 1 , the applying the magnetic field further including:
applying the magnetic field along a first axis of the sample, such that the estimating the position includes estimating the position of that emission particle along the first axis;
applying the magnetic field along a second axis of the sample, the second axis orthogonal to the first axis, such that the estimating the position includes estimating the position of that emission particle along the second axis; and
applying the magnetic field along a third axis of the sample, the third axis orthogonal to the first axis and to the second axis, such that the estimating the position includes estimating the position of that emission particle along the third axis.

8. The method of claim 1 , the exciting the sample including exciting the sample from a plurality of angles of incidence with the excitation beam, the estimating the optical transmission information further based on the plurality of angles of incidence.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
applying a reference excitation beam to the sample to determine a phase of an optical transmission coefficient of the optical transmission information using one or more optical interferometric techniques.

10. The method of claim 1 , where the excitation beam includes a set of basis modes, and wherein the optical transmission information including the measure of optical field for each basis mode of the set of basis modes.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
estimating, for the position of each emission particle and for each basis mode, a feedback parameter to generate a set of feedback parameters;
modifying at least one characteristic of the excitation beam based on the set of feedback parameters.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the fluorescence is a first fluorescence signal, the estimating the feedback parameter further including, for each emission particle and each basis mode:
applying a microwave signal to the sample, a frequency of the microwave sample being resonant with the resonance frequency of that emission particle;
detecting a second fluorescence signal emitted by the sample in response to the excitation beam and the microwave signal; and
estimating the feedback parameter for that emission particle and for that basis mode based on the second fluorescence signal.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising detecting at least a portion of the excitation beam reflected from or transmitted through the sample as a first excitation beam signal, the estimating the feedback parameter further including, for each emission particle and each basis mode:
applying a microwave signal to the sample, a frequency of the microwave sample being resonant with the resonance frequency of that emission particle;
detecting a second excitation beam signal reflected from or transmitted through the sample in response to the excitation beam and the microwave signal; and
estimating the feedback parameter for that emission particle and for that basis mode based on the second excitation beam signal.

14. The method of claim 12 , the modifying further comprising modifying at least one characteristic of at least one basis mode of the excitation beam based on the set of feedback parameters.

15. A system, comprising:
a magnet to apply, to a sample exhibiting optical scattering and having a plurality of emission particles distributed therein that exhibit spin-dependent fluorescence, a magnetic field to shift a resonance frequency of each emission particle of the plurality of emission particles in a position-dependent manner;
a microwave generator to generate and apply a microwave signal to the sample to modulate the spin state of at least one emission particle of the plurality of emission particles;
a light source to excite the sample with an excitation beam, such that the excitation beam causes at least one emission particle of the plurality of emission particles to emit spin-dependent fluorescence;
a detector to detect the spin-dependent fluorescence; and
a controller to:
estimate a position of the at least one of the plurality of emission particles within the sample based on the spin-dependent fluorescence, the resonance frequency of the at least one of the plurality of emission particles, and the magnetic field; and
estimate optical transmission information for the sample based on a wavefront of the excitation beam and the estimated position, the optical transmission information including a measure of an optical field at each position of an emission particle of the plurality of emission particles.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein each emission particle of the plurality of emission particles includes a solid-state quantum emitter.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the solid-state quantum emitter is a diamond nanocrystal having a nitrogen vacancy center.

18. The system of 15 , wherein the magnetic field has a gradient to shift the resonance frequency of each emission particle based on the position of that emission particle in the sample.

19. The system of 15 , wherein the magnetic field has a constant magnitude or a constant gradient to shift the resonance frequency of each emission particle based on the position and an orientation of that emission particle in the sample.

20. The system of claim 15 , wh

Assignees

• Kim Donggyu
• Englund Dirk Robert
• Massachusetts Inst Technology

Inventors

• Kim Donggyu
• Englund Dirk Robert

Classifications

• G01Q60/20

  Fluorescence · CPC title

• G01N24/006 Primary

  using optical pumping (magnetometers using optical pumping G01R33/26, optical pumping of lasers H01S3/091) · CPC title

• G02B7/04

  with mechanism for focusing or varying magnification · CPC title

• G01N24/10

  by using electron paramagnetic resonance (G01N24/12 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01R33/323

  Detection of MR without the use of RF or microwaves, e.g. force-detected MR, thermally detected MR, MR detection via electrical conductivity, optically detected MR · CPC title