隨著雷射及偵測技術的進步，促使光學顯微鏡的應用更加廣泛，特別在生醫領域研究上，光學顯微鏡非侵入式及活體觀測的優點，使其扮演無可取代的重要角色。然而光的波動性也限制了光學顯微鏡的空間解析能力（約為半波長），使得光學顯微鏡無法清楚辨別更微小的結構如細胞胞器等，此即Abbe 於百餘年前所預測之繞射極限。最近發展的超解析遠場顯微技術如STORM、PALM、STED、SSIM已突破這個繞射屏障，目前遠場光學顯微鏡空間解度已進展至數十奈米左右。顯微術已然推進至顯「奈」術。

Optical microscopy has been widely applied in numerous disciplines, especially in biological science due to its noninvasiveness, high contrast, and high sensitivity for in vivo imaging. However, the diffraction limit of the farfield light microscopy, as predicted by Abbe's theory (two objects cannot be resolved when they are separated by less than half of the incident light wavelength), has plagued the achievable spatial resolution for over a century. In recent years, the novel advances in optical microscopy, such as photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM), stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), stimulated emission depletion (STED), and saturated structured illumination microscopy (SSIM) have, nonetheless, surpassed optical microscopy resolution limit beyond the Abbe's barrier. These advancements will bring unprecedented impact to the future development of critical bioand nano-technologies.