Abbe Theory of Image Formation

Abbe Theory of Image Formation

A theory of image formation by optical microscopy which is based on the fact that a non-self-luminous particle illuminated by an extraneous source gives rise to diffracted light rays, in addition to the dioptric pencil. Ernst Abbe, a German physicist, stated that an increase in the diffracted rays intercepted by the objective improves the microscopic image, and held that when the illumination excludes diffracted images, resolution is lost.