Superlens Created

Light microscopy, but not electron microscopy, can be used to image living tissues. But  400 nanometers is the shortest wavelength that allows imaging without damage to the tissue itself. Evanescent waves allow researchers to get around this limitation. Researchers have made a lens out of a 35-nanometer-thick film of silver, which they used with a light source of identical frequency (the same resonant frequency of the lens's electrons). The light shone through the word "NANO," inscribed in letters with a 40-nanometer line width on a piece of chromium through ion beam lithography. Upon exposure to the light, the silver electrons resonated with the evanescent waves, providing enhanced excitement. A light-sensitive material was also used to capture the lens directed waves. This work could allows researchers to view biological processes in real time as they naturally occur, something not possible using present technologies. To learn more read here or see Science, Vol 308, Issue 5721, 534-537 , 22 April 2005.