STED microscopy, or Stimulated Emission Depletion microscopy, is a super-resolution imaging technique used in fluorescence microscopy. It was developed to overcome the diffraction limit of conventional light microscopy, which typically restricts resolution to about 200 nanometers for visible light. The fundamental principle behind STED microscopy involves the use of two laser beams: 1. **Excitation Beam**: This laser excites fluorescent molecules (fluorophores) in the sample, causing them to emit light.

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STED microscopy by Ciro Santilli 37 Updated +Created
Stefan Hell was really excited by this as of 2023.
Instead of shining a light over the entire sample to saturate it, you illuminate just a small bit instead.
He was basically saying that this truly brings the resolution to the actual physical limits, going much much beyond 2014 Nobel prize levels.
Figure 1.
Illumination patterns for STED microscopy
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