Optical Resolution and Simple Light Microscopes

Optics and Spectroscopy at Surfaces and Interfaces. Vladimir G. Bordo and Horst-Gunter Rubahn Copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA, Weinheim ISBN 3-527-40560-7 

The smallest resolvable structure or the smallest distance between two separately imaged points is dictated by the wave nature of light. In the course of imaging a diffraction pattern is generated as shown in Fig. 8.2 for a point source. The corresponding intensity distribution is represented by an Airy function. 

The diameter of the Airy disc for an imaging lens with focus length / and diameter D is 

Two points with diameter Ax can be separated, if the intensity maximum of one point falls into the intensity minimum of the second point ( Rayleigh-Abbe-criterion (Abbe 1873 Rayleigh 1879) Fig. 8.3). This is the case for 

If one uses a microscope objective instead of a simple lens, it is more appropriate to define fhe resolufion limit as 

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Optical Resolution and Simple Light Microscopes 203 Transmitted intensity... 

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