Resolving complex subwavelength grating structures using topologically structured light
Resolving complex subwavelength grating structures using topologically structured light
It has been seen recently that when probing a nanoscale object to determine, for example, size or position via light scattering, a significant advantage in measurement precision can be gained from exploiting phase singularities in a topologically structured incident light field. Here, we demonstrate that this advantage, derived from the dependence of scattered intensity profiles on strong local (subwavelength-scale) intensity and phase variations in the incident field, can be extended towards imaging applications: analysis of scattering patterns from arbitrary binary gratings under superoscillatory illumination successfully resolves feature sizes down to ∼λ/6.6 in single-shot measurements (a factor of 1.3× smaller than is achieved with plane wave illumination), and ∼λ/10.5 in positionally-displaced few-shot measurements (which yields no improvement in the plane wave case). Interestingly, there are circumstances in which more complex objects are better resolved than simple structures, because interference effects increase the information content of their scattering patterns.
2693-2700
Grant, Thomas A.
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Plum, Eric
50761a26-2982-40df-9153-7aecc4226eb5
Zheludev, Nikolay I.
32fb6af7-97e4-4d11-bca6-805745e40cc6
MacDonald, Kevin F.
76c84116-aad1-4973-b917-7ca63935dba5
26 January 2026
Grant, Thomas A.
0a8fdda7-92d0-475f-809b-4784b81f9b24
Plum, Eric
50761a26-2982-40df-9153-7aecc4226eb5
Zheludev, Nikolay I.
32fb6af7-97e4-4d11-bca6-805745e40cc6
MacDonald, Kevin F.
76c84116-aad1-4973-b917-7ca63935dba5
Grant, Thomas A., Plum, Eric, Zheludev, Nikolay I. and MacDonald, Kevin F.
(2026)
Resolving complex subwavelength grating structures using topologically structured light.
Optics Express, 34 (2), .
(doi:10.1364/OE.580365).
Abstract
It has been seen recently that when probing a nanoscale object to determine, for example, size or position via light scattering, a significant advantage in measurement precision can be gained from exploiting phase singularities in a topologically structured incident light field. Here, we demonstrate that this advantage, derived from the dependence of scattered intensity profiles on strong local (subwavelength-scale) intensity and phase variations in the incident field, can be extended towards imaging applications: analysis of scattering patterns from arbitrary binary gratings under superoscillatory illumination successfully resolves feature sizes down to ∼λ/6.6 in single-shot measurements (a factor of 1.3× smaller than is achieved with plane wave illumination), and ∼λ/10.5 in positionally-displaced few-shot measurements (which yields no improvement in the plane wave case). Interestingly, there are circumstances in which more complex objects are better resolved than simple structures, because interference effects increase the information content of their scattering patterns.
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Accepted/In Press date: 6 January 2026
Published date: 26 January 2026
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 509635
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/509635
ISSN: 1094-4087
PURE UUID: 84182eb1-1cef-43c7-bbba-b0f95963ccb6
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Date deposited: 27 Feb 2026 17:39
Last modified: 28 Feb 2026 02:43
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