Optical microscope resolving power enhancement - uses electronic scanning of real sharp and unsharp images to form difference image

A method is used for improving the resolving power of a microscope, in which either a real, sharp optical image and an unsharp electronic image of the object are formed, or a real sharp and a real unsharp optical image, or two optical images at different optical wavelengths. The images are scanned electronically and are amplified to form a differential image. The product of the modulation transfer function with optical imaging and that with electronic amplification, as a function of the spatial frequency, is raised or held constant over a wide range of spatial frequencies. The optical imaging may be effected in ultra-violet light.