Cavity-Enhanced optical microscope
Visualization of material objects is instrumental for our perception and understanding of nature. Nanoscale matter, however, escapes direct visualization by optical imaging due to weak interaction with light. Thus, studies of nanoparticles and molecules with common light absorption or emission microscopes are predominantly limited to macroscopic samples. Our recent developments of cavity-enhanced light-matter coupling provide means to boost the sensitivity of optical microscopy to the level of single nanoparticles and molecules. Our innovative technology enables detection, spectroscopy and label-free imaging of individual nano-objects that are instrumental for the development of novel functional materials and devices. In contrast to most alternative techniques of sensitive visualization, it operates with versatile and affordable light sources and detectors. Moreover, the technological platform is not limited to specific materials or sophisticated sample preconditioning and thus is applicable to fields as diverse as quantum physics and medicine. It capitalizes on the enhancement of light-matter coupling by an optical cavity to enable direct and quantitative optical absorption imaging of nanoscale matter. This ERC Proof of Concept project aims at leveraging the vast potential of our innovative technology towards its commercialization with the ultimate goal to create a consistent product concept and to advance our highly sensitive cavity-enhanced optical microscope into an affordable and widely spread enabling analytic tool.