SUPERRESOLUTION OPTICAL IMAGING WITH A HIGH-BRIGHTNESS SUBWAVELENGTH LIGHT-SOURCE

We present a novel approach that allows for the generation of an intense ( > 5-mu-W), well defined, subwavelength (0.1-mu-m) spot of light using an integrated approach which combines state-of the-art far-field optical imaging with a near-field light source. The combination allows for images to be generated of low contrast objects at significantly greater resolution than conventional optical microscopy using near-field optics which involves the scanning of a subwavelength spot of light close enough to a surface (a few hundred angstroms) so that the diffraction effects due to the wave nature of light are not a limiting factor. In principle, this method should generate an image that is determined solely by the dimension of the light spot and not by the wavelength. The instrument we describe has the potential for providing conventional light microscopic images of several hundred times magnification coupled with the ability to zoom in and obtain optical images with magnifications of tens of thousands of times normally associated with electron microscopy. These images can be produced with all the advantages of the light microscope such as fluorescence and imaging under ambient conditions without the destructive sample preparation and beam damage that is characteristic of electron microscopy.