Electric-field-resolved near-infrared microscopy

Access to the complete spatiotemporal response of matter due to structured light requires field sampling techniques with sub-wavelength resolution in time and space. We demonstrate spatially resolved electro-optic sampling of near-infrared waveforms, providing a versatile platform for the direct measurement of electric field dynamics produced by photonic devices and sub-wavelength structures both in the far and near fields. This approach offers high-resolution, time- or frequency-resolved imaging by encoding a broadband signal into a narrowband blueshifted image, lifting the resolution limits imposed by both chromatic aberration and diffraction. Specifically, measuring the field of a near-infrared laser with a broadband sampling laser, we achieve 1.2 mu m resolution in space and 2.2 fs resolution in time. This provides an essential diagnostic for complete spatiotemporal control of light with metasurface components, demonstrated via a metalens as well as a meta-axicon that forms broadband, ultrashort, truncated Bessel beams in the near infrared. Finally, we demonstrate the electric field dynamics of locally enhanced hot spots with sub-wavelength dimensions, recording the full temporal evolution of the electric field at each point in the image simultaneously. The imaging modality opens a path toward hyperspectral microscopy with simultaneous sub-wavelength resolution and wide-field imaging capability. (c) 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

This study demonstrates an electro-optic sampling technique for direct measurement of electric field dynamics produced by photonic devices and sub-wavelength structures. The technique offers high-resolution spatiotemporal imaging and overcomes resolution limits by encoding broadband signals into narrowband images.