The invention of optical nanoscopy is about to revolutionise several disciplines and it was awarded with a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014. It is widely believed that a majority of existing optical microscopes will be replaced by a nanoscopy. Unfortunately, the potential of the such a revolution and its widespread adoption are severely obstructed due to limitations of present day nanoscopy solution, i.e. system complexity, high cost and low throughput. In my ERC project, I have developed photonic chip-based optical nanoscopy, to be used in a standard microscope, where sample is placed on top of a photonic chip, capable of both holding and illuminating the sample, enabling to acquire super-resolved images. This is indeed a disruptive technology enabling widespread penetration of affordable chip based nanoscopes. Furthermore, on-chip nanoscopy has demonstrated its capabilities to image upto 100X larger imaging areas than present commercial optical nanoscopy systems. In ChipNano, the overall aim here is to bring the technology closer to the market by making the invention more commercial viable by a) co-operating and possibly setting-up business contract with the industrial partners on chip-production b) obtaining user feedback from key opinion leaders in Europe; c) consolidating business case to attract long-term venture funding in close cooperation with university spin-off Chip NanoImaging AS.
