Abstract
Light microscopy played a crucial role in the development of cellular biology. It has also been important for material science and other disciplines, as well for many practical applications.
Before the end of 19th century Ernst Abbe recognized that the resolution of optical microscopes is limited, being equal to about half the wavelength of imaging light. In the past two decades, however, several pioneering methods occurred, based on the combination of optical microscopes with lasers as light sources and computers used to control experiments and/or process images.
Moreover, an important role has got the progress in visualizing cell structures with fluorescent proteins and other fluorescent probes. The combination of these three factors made it possible to improve the resolution of optical microscopes to such an extent that instead of microscopy we can now talk about nanoscopy.
This article gives a brief explanation of the principles of superesolution microscopy.