Photothermal single particle microscopy using a single laser beam

We introduce a single-laser-beam photothermal microscopy scheme for the detection of single absorbing nano-objects. Here, a modulated incident laser beam with a constant intensity offset serves as pump and probe beam at the same time. Using the out-of-phase scattering response of the retarded thermorefractive wave field, the method provides a selective contrast for absorbers over a possible background of scatterers. The use of a single wavelength and a single beam, considerably simplifies the setup and integration of photothermal detection in existing microscopy schemes.