Resolution enhancement of confocal scanning microscopy using low-intensity imaging part of point spread function

We introduce a phase mask with a left-handed azimuthal polarization to generate a special shape of point spread function. The proposed point spread function has low-intensity and small size in the central lobe. This central lobe of the point spread function is used to obtain an image on the detector, and therefore the lateral resolution is improved. The proposed method can achieve a remarkable improvement in the lateral resolution and the depth of field compared with conventional confocal scanning microscopy. The image simulation demonstrated that the images obtained by this proposed method have better imaging quality. © 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).