Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge / 2019 / Paper 1 / Section A(ii) / 4 / ii

An immersion liquid increases numerical aperture through $NA=n\sin \alpha$, if the optics can use the same ray angle $\alpha$ inside a transparent, chemically compatible liquid of refractive index $n$. With unchanged $k_1$ and vacuum wavelength, the width scales as $R_{\mathrm{imm}}=R_{\mathrm{air}}/n$ at fixed angle. If the two empirical formulae printed in the question are used literally with fixed $k_2$, they give $DO{F}_{\mathrm{imm}}=300/n^2\mathrm{nm}$.

For a physical axial displacement inside the medium, however, the familiar paraxial defocus range contains an additional index factor: $DOF\propto n{\lambda }_0/N{A}^2$. That convention gives $DO{F}_{\mathrm{imm}}/DO{F}_{\mathrm{air}}\simeq 1/n$ at fixed ray angle, or an approximately $n$-fold larger depth of focus at fixed $NA$ and resolution. Thus immersion can improve lateral resolution, while its focus benefit depends on what is held fixed and on the axial-focus convention. It cannot improve resolution merely by inserting $n$ into $NA$ while ignoring optical redesign, absorption or resist compatibility. No liquid index is supplied for a numerical prediction.