Bessel beams with independent optical parameters in fluorescence microscopy

Light shaping approaches are fundamental techniques adopted in a variety of applications such as material processing, communication, and microscopy. Here, we present a method based on wave front engineering to generate 3D arrangements of Bessel Beams (BB) with independent optical properties all encoded in one single, flat, and lightweight optical element. We fabricated and characterized a Silicon Nitride (SiNx) element using Meta-Surface (MS) technology to generate one of the designed BB lattices. We demonstrated its application in microscopy by integrating it along the excitation path of a light-sheet microscope (LSM) and recording neuronal activity from the zebrafish larva brain.