Patent ID: 7830506

Claim:
A method for high spatial resolution examination of a sample, the sample to be examined comprising a substance that can be repeatedly converted from a first state into a second state, the first and the second states differing from one another in at least one optical property, comprising the following steps: a) bringing the substance into the first state by a switching signal in a sample region to be recorded, b) inducing the second state by an optical signal, wherein spatially delimited subregions of remaining first states are specifically excluded within the sample region to be recorded, c) reading out the remaining first states, and d) steps a) to c) are repeated, the optical signal being displaced upon each repetition in order to scan the sample, wherein the individual steps a) to d) are carried out in a sequence adapted to a respective measuring situation, wherein a subcycle comprising a subset of steps a) to d) is repeatedly executed within the overall cycle comprising steps a) to d).