Using a Single Atom as a “Camera” Could Push Boundaries of Microscopy
Researchers turned a single ultracold atom into a camera that sees beyond optical limits.
A research group led by Assistant Professor Takafumi Tomita and Professor Kenji Ohmori at the Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, has developed a new microscopy technique called the "Atom Camera," which uses a single ultracold atom at near absolute zero temperature*1 trapped in an optical tweezer*2 as a camera to visualize the intensity and polarization*3 distributions of light at the nanometer (one-millionth of a millimeter) scale.
In this study, a single atom trapped by an optical tweezer was successfully utilized as a scanning probe*4 for imaging the fine structures of intensity and polarization distributions of light patterns with a spatial resolution beyond the diffraction limit*5 of conventional optical microscopes.
The results were published in the online edition of the British scientific journal Nature Communications on May 29th, 2026.
1. Research background
In recent years, quantum computers and other quantum technologies have been rapidly advancing worldwide. Precise control of finely structured light fields widely used in such quantum technologies is critically important. In particular, laser light is one of the primary tools for controlling quantum states of matter, exemplified by the arrays of microscopic light spots and lattice-shaped light patterns created by lasers playing central roles in operating neutral-atom quantum computers*6.
To properly control such finely structured laser fields generated by optical devices, it is necessary to directly observe the light patterns formed inside quantum devices such as vacuum chambers. However, it is difficult to place diagnostic cameras inside vacuum chambers without affecting qubits, which are highly sensitive to environmental noises. In addition, when light is observed remotely through lenses, aberrations*7 introduced by those lenses themselves are most likely to distort the measured light patterns.
2. Research results
The researchers used a single rubidium*8 atom trapped in an optical tweezer as a probe. By spatially scanning the atom position with nanometer-scale (one-millionth of a millimeter) precision and measuring the energy shifts of its internal spin states, they obtained local information about the light field at each atom position. From the measured energy shifts as a function of the atom position, the intensity distribution of the light was successfully visualized (Fig. 2).
Furthermore, the researchers focused on the fact that the spin-dependent energy shift depends not only on light intensity, but also on light polarization. Utilizing this property, they successfully visualized polarization distributions directly. As a demonstration of this technique for polarization imaging, they observed a non-trivial polarization structure appearing in a tightly focused laser beam confined within a spatial extent approximately 1 micrometer (one-thousandth of a millimeter) wide. It is known that even a simple linearly polarized laser beam acquires circular polarization structures near the focal point after passing through a lens. The Atom Camera directly visualized this non-trivial polarization structure (Fig. 2).
The probe atom used in this method was cooled down with a method called laser cooling*9 to the lowest quantum-mechanical motional state achievable inside the optical tweezer. The spatial resolution of the probe is fundamentally determined by the quantum-mechanical positional fluctuation of a single atom, which was approximately 25 nanometers under the present experimental conditions. The researchers experimentally demonstrated a spatial resolution below 100 nanometers, significantly surpassing the diffraction limit of conventional optical microscopy.
3. Future development and social significance of this research
The Atom Camera developed in this study provides a new measurement technique for directly observing nanoscale optical structures that have been difficult to access by conventional methods.
Techniques capable of precisely characterizing microscopic light fields are expected to be useful for emerging neutral-atom quantum computers and simulators*10 in characterizing and controlling the structures of laser fields used to manipulate atoms. In particular, because the behavior of atomic qubits depends not only on laser intensity, but also on laser polarization, the ability to simultaneously measure both of them makes this method a powerful diagnostic tool.
4. Terminology
1* Optical Tweezer
A technique that traps microscopic particles using tightly focused laser light. Invented by Arthur Ashkin in the 1970s, optical tweezers can trap individual atoms by attracting them toward the brightest region of the focused laser beam.
2* Absolute Zero Temperature
The temperature at which atomic and molecular motion reaches its minimum possible value. This temperature is defined as 0 Kelvin, corresponding to −273.15°C.
3* Polarization
A property describing the oscillation direction of light waves. Light can oscillate in a fixed direction (linear polarization) or rotate while propagating (circular polarization). In this study, the researchers visualized distributions of circular polarization.
4* Probe
A sensor or detection element used to investigate a target system. In this study, a single atom itself was used as the probe to obtain local information about the light field.
5* Diffraction Limit
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Because light behaves as a wave, conventional optical microscopes cannot clearly resolve structures smaller than approximately the wavelength of light. This fundamental resolution limit is called the diffraction limit.
6* Neutral-Atom Quantum Computer
A modality of quantum computing hardware that uses neutral atoms trapped and arranged in space by optical tweezers as quantum bits (qubits). This approach has rapidly been attracting worldwide attention because it offers several advantages, including room-temperature operation, flexible atom transport, scalability, and long coherence times.
7* Aberration
A phenomenon in which light passing through a lens fails to focus ideally, causing image blur or distortion in optical systems such as cameras and microscopes.
8* Rubidium Atom
An alkali metal atom with atomic number 37. It has one electron in the 5th orbital (5s) around the nucleus.
9* Laser Cooling
A technique that uses laser light to reduce the motion of atoms and cool them to extremely low temperatures. By suppressing the thermal motion of atoms, laser cooling enables high-precision quantum control and precision measurements.
10* Neutral-Atom Quantum Simulator
A device that artificially arranges neutral atoms trapped by laser light and uses their quantum interactions to emulate complex quantum phenomena such as magnetism and correlated electron systems, which are difficult to calculate using conventional computers.
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Accelerate Your mAb Development: From Bench to Commercial Scale
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Standard Tests Do Not Always Detect All Gluten Residues in Barley Beer
Standard ELISA tests may not be able to detect several peptides present in beer that can trigger celiac disease.
Some barley beers labeled as “gluten-free” contain small amounts of gluten residues that may trigger celiac disease, which are not detected by the standard antibody-based tests currently in use. This is the conclusion of a study by the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich. In the study, researchers compared two antibody-based testing methods with a mass spectrometric detection method newly developed at the Institute. The study results show that modern food analytical methods could help further improve the safety of gluten-free products in the future.
Gluten is a collective term for certain proteins found in wheat, rye, and barley. In the EU and according to the international guidelines of the Codex Alimentarius, a food is officially considered “gluten-free” if its gluten concentration is no more than 20 milligrams per kilogram. This limit is set so that most people with celiac disease can tolerate “gluten-free” foods without experiencing symptoms. Celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune disorder of the small intestine in which the body reacts with hypersensitivity to gluten.
Barley beer also naturally contains gluten. To produce gluten-free barley beers, breweries employ various methods. They then use standardized testing procedures to verify whether the beers comply with the legally established gluten limit. These procedures typically involve so-called enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), which detect gluten residues using antibodies. These residues are immunogenic protein fragments (peptides) that are produced, for example, during the enzymatic breakdown of gluten.
New analytical method enables more accurate detection
To verify the accuracy of such standard tests, the research team around principal investigator Katharina Scherf and first author Eleonora Tissen examined four beers containing gluten and 21 gluten-free barley beers. In addition to two established ELISA methods, the researchers used a newly developed method of nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (nanoLC-MS/MS), which makes it possible to specifically identify celiac disease-active peptides.
The study results show clear differences between the three different detection methods: For example, the G12-ELISA confirmed gluten concentrations below 20 milligrams per kilogram in all beers labeled as “gluten-free.” The R5-ELISA, on the other hand, detected concentrations in four of these beers that slightly exceeded the EU limit. Using the mass spectrometry method, the team also identified a total of 44 peptides that, according to the literature, can trigger celiac disease due to their molecular structure, 29 of which were found in “gluten-free” beers. Seventeen of the 44 celiac-active peptides had a structure that the ELISA antibodies currently in use cannot detect.
Further research needed
“Our results mean that gluten-free barley beers are generally safe. However, they also show that there can be discrepancies between antibody tests and that they do not detect all celiac-active peptides known from the literature,” says Eleonora Tissen, who completed her doctoral studies in Katharina Scherf’s research group. Principal investigator Katharina Scherf adds: “Whether the peptides we additionally identified actually trigger health-relevant reactions cannot yet be conclusively assessed. The good news is that their concentrations were very low and below the EU limit.”
According to the researchers, further investigations are needed. Only then can the potential risk for people with celiac disease be reliably assessed. “In the long term, the combination of established rapid tests and modern mass spectrometry methods could make gluten-free foods even safer. In any case, our study is already providing important impetus for the further development of analytical methods,” says Katharina Scherf, who heads the research group Food Biopolymer Chemistry at the Leibniz Institute.
References: Tissen E, Geisslitz S, Maier B, Scherf KA. Identification of celiac disease-active peptides in gluten-free barley beers by nanoLC-MS/MS. Appl Food Res. 2026;6(1):101952. doi: 10.1016/j.afres.2026.101952
Tissen E, Geisslitz S, Scherf KA. Absolute quantitation of celiac disease-active gluten peptides in gluten-free barley beer by targeted nanoLC-MS/MS. Food Res Int. 2025;222:117703. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2025.117703
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