The Zeiss Axio Imager.M2m is a state of the art optical microscope. Images can be taken in bright field or dark field mode,
applying
- interference contrast,
- phase contrast or
- polarization contrast
if desired. LEDs with a color temperature ranging from 5700 K to 6500 K illuminate the sample in either in transmission or in reflection.
The microscope is equipped with EC Epiplan-NEOFLUAR objective lenses with magnifications 5x (NA 0.13), 10x (NA 0.25), 20x (NA 0.50), 50x (NA 0.8) and 100x (NA 0.90) suitable for interference and polarization contrast. Additionally, an N-ACHROPLAN 20x (NA 0.45) serves as objective lense for phase contrast. The image can be viewed through a 10x ocular (field of view number: 23 mm) and recorded with an Axiocam 503 color camera.
Additionally, the lab runs two Zeiss Stemi stereomicroscopes for large-area imaging and sample preparation, one of them being equipped with yellow light illumination for the examination of photoresists.
bright field and dark field
The following images compare bright field (left) and dark field (right) illumination of a detail of a microarchitecture with a magnification of 50. The total image size is about 200 µm x 250 µm.
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bright field image; total image size approx. 200 µm x 250 µm; image taken by Gillian Kiliani -
dark field image; total image size approx. 200 µm x 250 µm; image taken by Gillian Kiliani
interference contrast
The following images of a detail of a microarchitecture and a CCD-Chip were taken in bright field with and without additional circular differential interference contrast (see image description after clicking on picture). The total image sizes are about 200 µm x 250 µm in case of the microarchitecture and 500 µm x 625 µm in case of the CCD-Chip.
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microarchitecture: bright field image; total image size approx. 200 µm x 250 µm; image taken by Gillian Kiliani -
microarchitecture: bright field image with circular differential interference contrast; total image size approx. 200 µm x 250 µm; image taken by Gillian Kiliani -
CCD-chip: bright field image; total image size approx. 500 µm x 625 µm; image taken by Gillian Kiliani -
CCD-chip: bright field image with circular differential interference contrast; total image size approx. 500 µm x 625 µm; image taken by Gillian Kiliani
polarisation contrast
The following images of magnetic domains in a gadolinium-gallium-granate sample were taken with polarization contrast in reflection (left) and transmission (right) using a magnification of 50x. The total image size is about 200 µm x 250 µm.
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image taken in reflection; total image size approx. 200 µm x 250 µm; image taken by Gillian Kiliani -
image taken in transmission; total image size approx. 200 µm x 250 µm; image taken by Gillian Kiliani