Quantum mechanics

Optical tweezers

Materials science

Microscope

Microscopy

Atomic physics

Standing wave

Computer science

Wavelength

Resolution (logic)

Image resolution

Physics

Optics

Near-field optics

Optical microscope

Field ion microscope

Artificial intelligence

Scanning electron microscope

Near-field scanning optical microscope

Physical Review Letters

We realize a scanning probe microscope using single trapped ^{87}Rb atoms to measure optical fields with subwavelength spatial resolution. Our microscope operates by detecting fluorescence from a single atom driven by near-resonant light and determining the ac Stark shift of an atomic transition from other local optical fields via the change in the fluorescence rate. We benchmark the microscope by measuring two standing-wave Gaussian modes of a Fabry-Pérot resonator with optical wavelengths of 1560 and 781 nm. We attain a spatial resolution of 300 nm, which is superresolving compared to the limit set by the 780 nm wavelength of the detected light. Sensitivity to short length scale features is enhanced by adapting the sensor to characterize an optical field via the force it exerts on the atom.

Superresolution Microscopy of Optical Fields Using Tweezer-Trapped Single Atoms