Far-field diffraction microscopy at λ/10 resolution

Tomographic diffraction microscopy is a three-dimensional quantitative optical imaging technique in which the sample is numerically reconstructed from tens of holograms recorded under different angles of incidence. We show that combining the measurement of the amplitude, the phase, and the polarization of the field scattered by the sample with an approximate knowledge of the sample permittivity allows reconstruction of spatially complex samples up to 50 nm resolution. This technique should be particularly useful for imaging objects made of known materials. © 2016 Optical