Imaging object details with length scales below approximately 200 nm has been historically difficult for conventional microscope objective lenses because of their inability to resolve features smaller than one-half the optical wavelength. Here we review some of the recent approaches to surpass this limit by harnessing self-assembly as a fabrication mechanism. Self-assembly can be used to form individual nano- and micro-lenses, as well as to form extended arrays of such lenses. These lenses have been shown to enable imaging with resolutions as small as 50 nm half-pitch using visible light, which is well below the Abbe diffraction limit. Furthermore, self-assembled nano-lenses can be used to boost contrast and signal levels from small nano-particles, enabling them to be detected relative to background noise. Finally, alternative nano-imaging applications of self-assembly are discussed, including three-dimensional imaging, enhanced coupling from light-emitting diodes, and the fabrication of contrast agents such as quantum dots and nanoparticles.

中文翻译：

---

通过自组装实现纳米成像

对于传统显微镜物镜来说，对长度尺度低于约 200 nm 的物体细节进行成像一直是困难的，因为它们无法分辨小于光学波长二分之一的特征。在这里，我们回顾了一些最近通过利用自组装作为制造机制来超越这一限制的方法。自组装可用于形成单独的纳米和微透镜，以及形成此类透镜的扩展阵列。这些镜头已被证明可以使用可见光以低至 50 nm 半间距的分辨率进行成像，远低于阿贝衍射极限。此外，自组装纳米透镜可用于提高小纳米颗粒的对比度和信号水平，使它们能够相对于背景噪声进行检测。最后，