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Superlens microscope gets up close

The first direct near-field optical images from a superlens have been obtained by researchers in Germany and the US. Superlenses are made of negative refractive index metamaterials and this breakthrough could lead to their use in enhancing near-field microscopy for imaging biological samples and materials used in electronics (Science 313 1595). The resolution of conventional scanning near-field optical microscopes (SNOMs) is restricted by near-field effects.