Abstract

Improved light-collection efficiency and spatial resolution in fluorescence microscopy higher than the diffraction-limit values in the conventional methods have been simultaneously realized by means of a solid immersion lens (SIL),^1,2 for which we investigate the relevant physics of the efficient light-collection effect. This technique should be very useful in the fluorescence microscopy of semiconductor nano-structures, single dye molecules and various applications in molecular biology.

© 1999 Optical Society of America