Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026

High-Throughput Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence and Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy Using a Photonic Chip
Published on: November 16, 2019
STED microscopy with continuous wave beams
Katrin I Willig1, Benjamin Harke, Rebecca Medda
1Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of NanoBiophotonics, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Abstract:
We report stimulated emission depletion (STED) fluorescence microscopy with continuous wave (CW) laser beams. Lateral fluorescence confinement from the scanning focal spot delivered a resolution of 29-60 nm in the focal plane, corresponding to a 5-8-fold improvement over the diffraction barrier. Axial spot confinement increased the axial resolution by 3.5-fold. We observed three-dimensional (3D) subdiffraction resolution in 3D image stacks. Viable for fluorophores with low triplet yield, the use of CW light sources greatly simplifies the implementation of this concept of far-field fluorescence nanoscopy.
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Electron Microscopy
Overview of Microscopy Techniques
Transmission Electron Microscopy
Phase Contrast and Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy
In-phase-contrast microscopes, interference between light directly passing through a cell and light refracted by cellular components is used to create high-contrast, high-resolution images without staining. It is the oldest and simplest type of microscope that creates an image by altering the wavelengths of light rays passing through the specimen. Altered wavelength paths are created using an annular stop in the condenser. The annular stop produces a hollow cone of...
Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy
Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...

