Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy01:18

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy

Optical microscopy uses optic principles to provide detailed images of samples. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek designed the first compound optical microscope in the 17th century to visualize blood cells, bacteria, and yeast cells. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes with enhanced magnification and resolution.
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...
Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy01:37

Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (SRFM) provides a better resolution than conventional fluorescence microscopy by reducing the point spread function (PSF). PSF is the light intensity distribution from a point that causes it to appear blurred. Due to PSF, each fluorescing point appears bigger than its actual size, and it is the PSF interference of nearby fluorophores that causes the blurred image. Various approaches to achieving higher resolution through SRFM have recently been developed.
Overview of Electron Microscopy01:25

Overview of Electron Microscopy

The wavelengths of visible light ultimately limit the maximum theoretical resolution of images created by light microscopes. Most light microscopes can only magnify 1000X, and a few can magnify up to 1500X. Electrons, like electromagnetic radiation, can behave like waves, but with wavelengths of 0.005 nm, they produce significantly greater resolution up to 0.05 nm as compared to 500 nm for visible light. An electron microscope (EM) can create a sharp image that is magnified up to 2,000,000X.
Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy01:16

Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy

Confocal microscopy is an advanced microscopic technique. The prime advantage of the confocal microscope over other microscopy techniques is its ability to block the out-of-focus light from the illuminated samples using pinholes. It is widely used with fluorescence optics to obtain high-resolution, sharp contrast images. Unlike optical microscopes, confocal microscopes use a focused beam of light laser to scan the entire sample surface at different z-planes. These microscopes are, therefore,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Reply to "Correspondence: Androgen receptor mRNA in glioblastoma: a reliable marker of tumor burden or a statistical artefact?"

Molecular biology reports·2026
Same author

Disentangling direct and indirect genetic pathways to neurodevelopmental risk: brain structure and behavior in a population-based parent-offspring trio study.

Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines·2026
Same author

Paediatric DNA methylation profile scores: a systematic review and open-source atlas.

EBioMedicine·2026
Same author

Bi-analyte demonstration of non-resonant, single-molecule SERS with isolated lithographic enhancement structures.

Scientific reports·2026
Same author

PASTA-4-PHT: a pipeline for automated security and technical audits for the personal health train.

BMC medical informatics and decision making·2026
Same author

Direct and indirect genetic effects of birthweight predisposition on child DNA methylation at birth.

Epigenetics·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

High-Throughput Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence and Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy Using a Photonic Chip
14:09

High-Throughput Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence and Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy Using a Photonic Chip

Published on: November 16, 2019

Optical resolution below lambda/4 using synthetic aperture microscopy and evanescent-wave illumination.

Alexander Neumann1, Yuliya Kuznetsova, S R J Brueck

  • 1Center for High Technology Materials and Department of Physics, University of New Mexico, 1313 Goddard SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. aneumann@chtm.unm.edu

Optics Express
|December 10, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Evanescent-wave illumination in synthetic-aperture microscopy breaks resolution limits. This technique achieves sub-wavelength resolution independent of lens numerical aperture (NA), promising enhanced imaging capabilities.

More Related Videos

Super-Resolution Microscopy of the Synaptonemal Complex Within the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline
09:14

Super-Resolution Microscopy of the Synaptonemal Complex Within the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline

Published on: September 13, 2022

Highly Resolved Intravital Striped-illumination Microscopy of Germinal Centers
10:07

Highly Resolved Intravital Striped-illumination Microscopy of Germinal Centers

Published on: April 9, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 27, 2026

High-Throughput Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence and Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy Using a Photonic Chip
14:09

High-Throughput Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence and Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy Using a Photonic Chip

Published on: November 16, 2019

Super-Resolution Microscopy of the Synaptonemal Complex Within the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline
09:14

Super-Resolution Microscopy of the Synaptonemal Complex Within the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline

Published on: September 13, 2022

Highly Resolved Intravital Striped-illumination Microscopy of Germinal Centers
10:07

Highly Resolved Intravital Striped-illumination Microscopy of Germinal Centers

Published on: April 9, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Optics and Photonics
  • Microscopy Techniques
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Conventional microscopy resolution is limited by the diffraction of light.
  • Achieving sub-wavelength resolution typically requires complex or specialized illumination methods.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To extend the resolution limit of synthetic-aperture microscopy.
  • To demonstrate a method for achieving super-resolution imaging using evanescent waves.

Main Methods:

  • Application of evanescent-wave illumination to synthetic-aperture microscopy.
  • Utilizing transparent solid substrates with varying refractive indices.
  • Employing a 633 nm light source and a 0.4 numerical aperture (NA) lens.

Main Results:

  • Achieved a resolution of 150 nm (lambda/4.2) on a glass substrate (n=1.5).
  • Demonstrated resolution is independent of the lens NA.
  • Projected resolution of approximately 74 nm (lambda/8.6) with a higher refractive index substrate (n=3.3).

Conclusions:

  • Evanescent-wave illumination effectively overcomes the diffraction limit in synthetic-aperture microscopy.
  • The achieved resolution is primarily dependent on the substrate's refractive index, not the lens NA.
  • This technique offers a pathway to significantly enhanced nanoscale imaging.