Object Motion with Structured Optical Illumination as a Basis for Far-Subwavelength Resolution

Traditional optical techniques suffer from the diffraction limit of about λ/2 in resolution, which $e.g.$ prevents using a visible-light microscope to see truly nanoscale objects. Beating this limit, especially in the optical far field, is tricky. The authors propose a method for observing a m00exo00exv00exi00exn00exg object illuminated by multiple plane waves, and analyzing the far-field measurements to reconstruct an image super-resolved to an amazing λ/100. This method could have a strong impact across disciplines related to high-resolution microscopy, including the inspection of integrated circuits, nanoparticles, biomolecules, or structures within living cells.