Superresolution based on coherent thermal radiation with selective information

Abstract We reexamine superresolution methods that may have been overlooked by previous optical microscopy techniques. For a one-dimensional (1D) system, we show that maximizing the information capacity of an imaging system is not a necessary condition for surpassing the Abbe diffraction limit. Specifically, the spatial resolution of two coherent emitters can go beyond the Abbe diffraction limit if an appropriate information zone, but not the full information zone, is selected for far-field imaging. Based on this principle, we show that λ/2.6 superresolution can be easily achieved for two coherent thermal radiative sources with a sufficiently large phase difference. Similar effects can be found for a 1D array of thermal radiative sources coupled by surface phonon polaritons. Introducing a dielectric microsphere into the system can further enhance the phase difference among the radiative sources, achieving superresolution better than λ/4. The concept and method presented here can be implemented to enhance the spatial resolution of thermal imaging.