Subwavelength imaging through ion-beam-induced upconversion

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 8832
• Main Authors: Mi, Zhaohong, Zhang, Yuhai, Vanga, Sudheer Kumar, Chen, Ce-Belle, Tan, Hong Qi, Watt, Frank, Liu, Xiaogang, Bettiol, Andrew A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12.11.2015; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Pub. Group
• Subjects: 639/301/930/2735; 639/766/400; 639/925/357/354; Atoms & subatomic particles; Energy; Helium; Humanities and Social Sciences; Ion beams; multidisciplinary; Nanocrystals; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Singapore
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9832

The combination of an optical microscope and a luminescent probe plays a pivotal role in biological imaging because it allows for probing subcellular structures. However, the optical resolutions are largely constrained by Abbe’s diffraction limit, and the common dye probes often suffer from photobleaching. Here we present a new method for subwavelength imaging by combining lanthanide-doped upconversion nanocrystals with the ionoluminescence imaging technique. We experimentally observed that the ion beam can be used as a new form of excitation source to induce photon upconversion in lanthanide-doped nanocrystals. This approach enables luminescence imaging and simultaneous mapping of cellular structures with a spatial resolution of sub-30 nm. Combining high-resolution microscopic techniques with luminescent probes is important for biological imaging. Here, Mi et al . demonstrate subwavelength imaging by combining lanthanide-doped upconversion nanocrystals with ionoluminescence, revealing cellular structure and particle spatial distribution at high resolution.