Perrin, StephaneLi, HongyuBadu, KeshiaComparon, ThomasQuaranta, GiorgioMessaddeq, NadiaLemercier, NicolasMontgomery, PaulVonesch, Jean-LucLecler, Sylvain2019-06-182019-06-182019-06-182019-02-0110.1002/pssr.201800445https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/157598WOS:000458298200009Microsphere-assisted microscopy allows the limit of the diffraction of light to overcome while being non-invasive, full-field, label-free, and easy-to-implement. However, the observation of translucent samples remains difficult using a classical bright-field illumination. In this work, a method is presented for the inspection of quasi-transparent sub-diffraction-limited structures by using dark-field illumination in the transmission mode. Glass-imprint features, having a size of 250 nm, as well as fixed mouse brain cells have been visualized using the dark-field microsphere-assisted technique. The possibility to observe feature sizes up to 100 nm has been demonstrated in air using a 25-mu m-diameter glass microsphere combined with an optical microscope, opening new possibilities for biological imaging.Materials Science, MultidisciplinaryPhysics, AppliedPhysics, Condensed MatterMaterials SciencePhysicsdark-field imagingmicrosphere-assisted microscopyoptical super-resolutiontranslucent medium imagingresolutionsuperresolutionnanoscopylighttext::journal::journal article::research article