Superlens breakthrough (April 2005) - News - PhysicsWeb

Scientists have just overcome of the diffraction limit problem in optics. For years, the diffraction limit has dictated the maximum resolution that can be achieved. This not only has application in microscopy, but in optical lithography, electronics, fiber optics, etc.

"In 2003, Zhang's group showed that optical evanescent waves could
indeed be enhanced as they passed through a silver superlens. Now they
have taken this work one step further and have imaged objects as small
as 40-nm across with their superlens, which is just 35-nm thick (see
figure). In contrast, current optical microscopes can only resolve
objects down to around 400-nm, which is about one tenth the diameter of
a red blood cell."

Superlens breakthrough (April 2005) - News - PhysicsWeb