Measurements of submicron structures with the Airyscan laser phase microscope

A laser phase microscope with a conventional optical system was used to obtain images of latex spheres 100 nm in diameter, of various viruses, and of other microscopic objects. Satisfactory images were obtained when the focusing was exact ( ~30 nm) and the numerical aperture of the objective was large. Specific properties of subwavelength phase images and typical artefacts in the images of submicron structures were analysed.