The past decade has witnessed an enormous growth in the application of optical microscopy for micron and submicron level investigations in a wide variety of disciplines (reviewed in references 1-5). Rapid development of new fluorescent labels has accelerated the expansion of fluorescence microscopy in laboratory applications and research (6-8). Advances in digital imaging and analysis have also enabled microscopists to acquire quantitative measurements quickly and efficiently on specimens ranging from photosensitive caged compounds and synthetic ceramic superconductors to real-time fluorescence microscopy of living cells in their natural environment (2, 9). Optical microscopy, with help of digital video, can also be used to image very thin optical sections, and confocal optical systems are now in operation at most major research institutions (10-12).