Advanced Light Microscopy

The lecture covers topics in materials optics and gives an overview on how to use light in order to characterize materials. Conventional light microscopy methods are discussed with respect to their applications in (bio)materials science. Theoretical and practical aspects of modern super-resolution techniques are discussed. Electromagnetic Waves at interfaces Electromagnetic waves Reflection and transmission: External reflection Reflection and transmission: Internal reflection Reflection and transmission: Frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) Reflection and transmission: Total internal reflection microscopy Electromagnetic properties of materials The dielectric response The Lorentz model of dielectrics Drude‘s model for metals Birefringence Optical Anisotropy Anisotropic dispersion Uniaxial Materials Biaxial and other Materials Optical Activity, Electro Optics, and Magneto Optics Optical activity Electro-Optics Magneto-Optic Effects Paraxial Optics: Thin Lenses, Thick Lenses, and ABCD Formalism Curved mirrors Thin Lenses Thick Lenses ABCD Matrices Optical aberrations and stops Aberrations Stops in Optical Systems Optical devices Widefield Microscopy The compound microscope Resolution Bright field microscopy Dark field Phase contrast Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) Polarisation microscopy Fluorescence microscopy Confocal Microscopy The confocal principle Scanning The pinhole Airy Scanning Super resolution microscopy – Beating Abbe‘s limit 3-D methods based on nonlinear optical phenomena Common ideas 2-photon excitation Second harmonic generation 4Pi-microscopy: Looking at the specimen from both sides Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy Stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) or (fluorescence) photoactivation localization microscopy ((F)PALM) Scanning nearfield optical microscopy (SNOM/NSOM) The basic idea Near field probes Aperture SNOM Scattering SNOM (s-SNOM) Raman Microscopy Raman Scattering Raman microscopy Symmetry of moleculatr vibrations Symmetry of phonon modes If time permits: Light Sources, Lasers and Coherence