Previous works reported that linear optics could be used to observe sub-wavelength features with a conventional optical microscope. Yet, the ability to reach a sub-200 nm resolution with a visible light remains limited. We present a novel widely-applicable method, where particle trapping is employed to overcome this limit. The combination of the light scattered by the sample and by the trapped particles encodes super-resolution information, which we decode by post image processing, with the trapped particle locations predetermined. As the first proof of concept our method successfully resolved sample characteristic features down to 100 nm. Improved performance is achieved with the fluorescence of the trapped particles employed. Further improvement may be attained with trapped particles of a smaller size.

This paper describes a design for the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), which has been proposed as a candidate core instrument for the European Polar Platform scheduled for launch in 1997. The instrument has a spectral range of 400 to 1050nm, a swath width of 1500km, spectral resolution of 1.25nm and spatial resolution of 260m. The instrument has applications in the fields of marine, land and atmospheric research.

No abstract