Super-resolution visible photoactivated atomic force microscopy

摘要

Super-resolution microscopy based on light-activated atomic force microscopy has been demonstrated a team in Korea. The diffraction limit makes it difficult to image structures smaller than about 200 nanometres using optical microscopy. While several super-resolution fluorescence microscopy techniques have been realized, there is a need for a super-resolution technique that does not use fluorescent dyes. Chulhong Kim of Pohang University of Science and Technology in Korea and co-workers have realized a resolution of 8 nanometres by using a pulsed laser beam to optically excite a sample and then observing the response using a conventional atomic force microscope. The researchers demonstrated their system by using it to image single gold nanoparticles as well as cancer and plant cells. They anticipate that it could find use in fields as diverse as physics, biology, chemistry, medicine and material science.