Unlimited Sharpness – Quantum Chemistry Meets Microscopy and Lithography

In 2014, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Eric Betzig, Stefan Hell, and William Moerner for their groundbreaking work in the field of high-resolution optical fluorescence microscopy. At first glance, this may seem surprising: microscopy is generally considered a branch of optics and thus more closely associated with physics.

The lecture explains why, in retrospect, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry came as little surprise: The key to overcoming the classical resolution limit in microscopy lay in the quantum-chemical properties of dye molecules. The same principle is used today to control photochemical reactions with unprecedented precision. This makes it possible to create structures that are significantly smaller than the wavelength of the light used—a breakthrough that is also pushing the boundaries of three-dimensional photolithography.

Thomas Klar is a professor of applied physics and director of the Institute of Applied Physics at Johannes Kepler University Linz.