Aberration sensing in fluorescence microscopy using quantum correlations
Abstract
Widefield fluorescence microscopy is an essential biological imaging tool, yet its penetration depth is fundamentally restricted by tissue-induced aberrations. Correcting these requires precise characterization of the point spread function (PSF), but existing wavefront sensing techniques rely either on often-unavailable guide stars, or on computationally heavy indirect phase retrieval methods, that could struggle in low-contrast regions. Here, we show that the PSF can be mapped directly and non-invasively by exploiting quantum correlations between photons. Standard fluorophores inherently exhibit photon antibunching, effectively acting as sources of ``missing'' photon pairs. By capturing these correlation statistics across a wide field of view using a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array imager, we extract the local PSF autocorrelation directly from the fluorescence emission itself. This approach bypasses the limitations of classical intensity measurements, requiring no iterative or complex numerical optimization. We demonstrate widefield direct PSF retrieval in a second or less, paving the way for real-time operation. By translating quantum optical concepts to conventional fluorescent probes, this technique provides a robust, direct pathway to deep-tissue adaptive optics in life sciences.
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BibTeX
@misc{elmalem2026aberration,
title = {{Aberration sensing in fluorescence microscopy using quantum correlations}},
author = {Shay Elmalem and Shaurya Aarav and Allard K. F. Hübler and Hugo Defienne and Dan Oron},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.19806},
eprint = {2609.19806},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19806},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Aberration sensing in fluorescence microscopy using quantum correlations
AU - Shay Elmalem
AU - Shaurya Aarav
AU - Allard K. F. Hübler
AU - Hugo Defienne
AU - Dan Oron
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.19806
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19806
AB - Widefield fluorescence microscopy is an essential biological imaging tool, yet its penetration depth is fundamentally restricted by tissue-induced aberrations. Correcting these requires precise characterization of the point spread function (PSF), but existing wavefront sensing techniques rely either on often-unavailable guide stars, or on computationally heavy indirect phase retrieval methods, that could struggle in low-contrast regions. Here, we show that the PSF can be mapped directly and non-invasively by exploiting quantum correlations between photons. Standard fluorophores inherently exhibit photon antibunching, effectively acting as sources of ``missing'' photon pairs. By capturing these correlation statistics across a wide field of view using a single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array imager, we extract the local PSF autocorrelation directly from the fluorescence emission itself. This approach bypasses the limitations of classical intensity measurements, requiring no iterative or complex numerical optimization. We demonstrate widefield direct PSF retrieval in a second or less, paving the way for real-time operation. By translating quantum optical concepts to conventional fluorescent probes, this technique provides a robust, direct pathway to deep-tissue adaptive optics in life sciences.
ER -