Quantum-inspired super-resolution of fluorescent point-like sources

We report the experimental super-resolution of pairs of point-like fluorescent sources using a modified image inversion interferometer microscope. The technique is inspired by recent developments in the application of quantum parameter estimation theory to semiclassical imaging problems. We find that the image inversion technique requires special polarization filtering to account for the dipolar nature of the emission. Using an azimuthal polarizer, we obtain improvements in the Fisher information of source separation by over an order of magnitude relative to direct imaging. Unlike established super-resolution fluorescence techniques, the method does not require sequential photoswitching/blinking of the fluorophores, and thus could facilitate significant speed-ups for certain biological imaging/tracking tasks. The authors propose and experimentally demonstrate a new route to passive super-resolution fluorescence microscopy inspired by quantum parameter estimation theory, which does not require sequential photoswitching of the fluorophores.