Final answer:
The highest resolution images are produced by the transmission electron microscope (TEM), which can achieve a resolution as low as 2.0 nm.
Step-by-step explanation:
Among the microscopes listed, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM) are capable of providing high-resolution images. However, the transmission electron microscope (TEM) typically produces the highest resolution images of the options provided. TEM uses a beam of electrons, rather than light, to visualize the specimen and can achieve much higher magnifications and resolutions than any form of optical microscopy, including brightfield, darkfield, and phase-contrast microscopy. Electron microscopes use electrons that have shorter wavelengths than photons used in light microscopy, allowing for a higher resolution.
While SEM can provide detailed images of the surfaces of specimens with a resolution of about 3.0-20.0 nm, TEM is capable of viewing much finer details with a resolution as low as 2.0 nm. Thus, for the student's question, the microscopy technique that produces the highest resolution images is transmission electron microscopy.