Super-resolution imaging properties of cascaded microsphere lenses

In this paper, the imaging properties of a cascaded microsphere lens are studied. The cascaded microsphere lens consists of two lenses. A hexagonally close-packed 960-nm-diameter array of polystyrene microspheres is used as the first lens. The second lens is a single silica microsphere with a diameter of about 5 μm. A Blu-ray disc is observed by both the cascaded microsphere lens and the single silica microsphere. Studies reveal that the magnification of the cascaded microsphere lens is about 1.4 times greater than that of the single silica microsphere, while the field of view of the cascaded microsphere lens, which is close to the diameter of the polystyrene microsphere, is decreased. The focal position of the cascaded lens microsphere must be close to the sample in order to observe it.