Huszka, GergelyGijs, Martin A. M.2020-11-052020-11-052020-11-052019-03-0110.1016/j.mne.2018.11.005https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/172967WOS:000579769300002Overcoming the classical diffraction limit in optical microscopy is known to be achievable by a variety of far-field and near-field microscopy techniques. More recently, so-called micro-object-based optical super-resolution microscopy techniques have emerged. In this review, we provide an overview of the state-of-the-art of optical super-resolution imaging techniques. In the first section, far-field techniques are discussed, which can be considered as advanced classical optical microscopy methods that mostly operate with fluorescent samples. In the second section, near-field techniques are presented that achieve super-resolution by maintaining a close distance between a nanometric detection unit and the sample, such that evanescent waves can be captured and processed. Near-field methods typically involve some scanning procedure to be able to map a reasonably large area of the sample. In the third section, dielectricmicro-object-based techniques are discussed. These provide amore recent, practical and affordable alternative to the other super-resolution microscopies. Finally, we provide a comparison of the presented techniques in terms of performance and cost, pointing out the application-specific strength of each imaging method. (c) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).optical super-resolution microscopyfar-field imagingnear-field imagingmicro-objectsmicrospheresphotonic nanojetground-state-depletionnear-field opticsphotonic-nanojetsfluorescence microscopylateral resolution3-dimensional superresolutionillumination microscopydiffraction-limitlightlocalizationtext::journal::journal article::review article