Near-Field Scanning Light Microscope

Professor Michael Isaacson of Cornell University invented this type of a microscope. This microscope also uses light but not lenses. In order to focus the light on a sample, Isaacson passed light through a very tiny hole. The hole and the sample are so closed together that the light beam does not spread out. This type of a microscope enabled Isaacson's team to resolve up to 40 nm when they used yellow-green light. In this type of a microscope, the resolution is not really limited by the wavelength of light but the amount of the sample since it is very small.