Fig. 1. Key steps in implementing instant structured illumination.

A converging microlens array is used to produce a multifocal excitation. After exciting the sample, out-of-focus fluorescence is rejected with a pinhole array that is matched to the microlens array. A 2x local contraction of each pinholed fluorescence emission is achieved with the aid of a second, matched microlens array. A galvo serves to raster multifocal excitation and sum multifocal emission, producing a super-resolution image during each camera exposure (for clarity, only a partial galvo scan is shown in this figure). Raw data corresponding to each of these steps: left. Cartoon representation: right. See also Supplementary Fig. 1.