Patent ID: 7551350

Claim:
A super-resolution microscope comprising: a first light source for irradiating a first coherent light, with respect to a sample containing a molecule with at least three electronic states including a ground state, so as to excite the sample from the ground state to a first electron-excited state having an excited lifetime τ; a second light source for irradiating a second coherent light to the sample so as to excite the sample from the first electron-excited state to a second electron-excited state having a higher energy level than the first electron-excited state; optical systems for combining a part of the first coherent light and a part of the second coherent light and focusing the coherent lights onto the sample; a scanning unit for scanning the sample by relatively moving the lights focused by the optical systems; and a detecting unit for detecting an optical response signal generated by the sample as a result of the irradiation from the optical systems; wherein the super-resolution microscope is configured so as to satisfy: σ 01 Ipτ≦1, and 0.65(λ e/λp )≦τσ dip Ie where λp is a wavelength of the first coherent light, λe is a wavelength of the second coherent light, τ is the excited lifetime in which the molecule is excited by the first coherent light from the ground state to the first electron-excited state, Ip is a maximum photon flux on a sample surface of the first coherent light, Ie is a maximum photon flux on a sample surface of the second coherent light, σ 01 is an absorption cross-sectional area when the molecule is exited from the ground state to the first electron-excited state, and σ dip is a fluorescence suppression cross-sectional area.