Bringing optical microscopy to the shortest possible length and time scales has been a long-sought goal, connecting nanoscopic elementary dynamics with the macroscopic functionalities of condensed matter. Super-resolution microscopy has circumvented the far-field diffraction limit by harnessing optical nonlinearities. By exploiting linear interaction with tip-confined evanescent light fields, near-field microscopy has reached even higher resolution, prompting a vibrant research field by exploring the nanocosm in motion.
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