Sub-Diffraction Photoacoustic Microscopy Enabled by a Novel Phase-Shifted Excitation Strategy: A Numerical Study.

ABSTRACT: This numerical simulation study introduces a novel phase-shifted Gaussian and donut beam excitation strategy for frequency-domain photoacoustic microscopy, capable of achieving optical sub-diffraction-limited lateral resolution. We demonstrate that the spatial overlapping of Gaussian and donut beams with π-radian phase-shifted intensity modulation may confine the effective photoacoustic excitation region, substantially reducing the beam-waist-normalized full width at half maximum value from 1.177 to 0.828 units. This effect corresponds to a ~1.42-fold lateral resolution enhancement compared with conventional focused Gaussian beam excitation. Furthermore, the influence of the optical power ratio between the beams was systematically analyzed, revealing an optimal value of 1.16, balancing exc

SUBMITTER: Tserevelakis GJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12845858 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature