Fluorescence microscopy with optical sectioning capabilities is extensively utilized in biological research to obtain three-dimensional structural images of volumetric samples. Tunable lenses have been applied in microscopy for axial scanning to acquire multiplane images. However, images acquired by conventional tunable lenses suffer from spherical aberration and distortions. Here, we design, fabricate, and implement a dielectric Moirémetalens for fluorescence imaging. The Moirémetalens consists of two complementary phase metasurfaces, with variable focal length, ranging from ∼10 to ∼125 mm at 532 nm by tuning mutual angles. In addition, a telecentric configuration using the Moirémetalens is designed for high-contrast multiplane fluorescence imaging. The performance of our system is evaluated by optically sectioned images obtained from HiLo illumination of fluorescently labeled beads, as well as ex vivo mice intestine tissue samples. The compact design of the varifocal metalens may find important applications in fluorescence microscopy and endoscopy for clinical purposes.

Two new interferometric configurations for optical vortex array generation are presented. These interferometers are different from the conventional interferometers in that they are capable of producing a large number of isolated zeros of intensity, and all of them contain optical vortices. Simulation and theory for optical vortex array generation using three-plane-wave interference is presented. The vortex dipole array produced this way is noninteracting, as there are no attraction or repulsion forces between them, leading to annihilation or creation of vortex pairs.

We present a systematic study of the superposition of two vector Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams. Propagation depended field distribution obtained from the superposition of two vector LG beams has many interesting features of intensity and polarization. Characteristic inhomogeneous polarization distribution of the vector LG beam appears in the form of azimuthally modulated intensity and polarization distributions in the superposition of the beams. We found that the array of polarization singular points, whose number depends upon the azimuthal indices of the two beams, evolves during propagation of the field. The position and number of C-points generated in the field were analyzed using Stokes singularity relations. Novel intensity and polarization patterns obtained from the superposition of two vector LG beams may find applications in the field of molecular imaging, optical manipulation, atom optics, and optical lattices.

The property of self-healing at the focal plane for both scalar and vector Bessel-Gauss (BG) beams is investigated in the tight focusing condition. For the BG beam, which is partially obstructed at the pupil plane, the spatial intensity distribution at the focal plane is well recovered. Furthermore, recovery of not only intensity but also polarization distribution is observed for an obstructed vector BG beam. This self-healing effect for both the intensity and polarization components is recognized even when the half of the beam is obstructed by a semicircular obstacle. The effect of the size of the obstacle on recovery of polarization and intensity distribution is studied. The role of the beam size at the pupil plane is also discussed.

Interferometric methods of vortex generation involve the interference of three or more plane waves. We show that spherical wave interference can produce vortex lattices similar to the one produced in the three-beam interference of plane waves. Three spherical waves of the same curvature are made to interfere in a shear interferometer introduced in a Mach-Zehnder configuration.