Popular Articles

  1. Resolution

    The resolving power of a microscope is the most important feature of the optical system.

  2. Depth of Field and Depth of Focus

    Fundamentals of the axial or longitudinal properties of microscope objectives.

  3. Introduction to Fluorescence Microscopy

    Basic equipment and techniques necessary for observing specimens in fluorescence.

  4. Numerical Aperture

    The ability of a microscope objective to gather light and resolve fine specimen detail.

  5. Introduction to Phase Contrast Microscopy

    A mechanism to translate variations in phase into corresponding changes in amplitude.

  6. Field of View

    The eyepiece field diaphragm determines the diameter (size) of the microscope viewfield.

  7. Polarized Light Microscopy

    Using crossed polarized illumination to examine birefringent materials.

  8. Working Distance and Parfocal Length

    The distance between the objective front lens or the nosepiece and the specimen.

  9. Introductory Confocal Concepts

    A discussion of point scanning and pinhole detection using photomultipliers.

  10. Microscope Objective Specifications

    The nomenclature and abbreviations inscribed on the objective protective barrel.

  1. The Diffraction Barrier in Optical Microscopy

    Limitations on optical microscope resolution imposed by physical laws.

  2. Introduction to Microscope Objectives

    Objectives are responsible for image formation and the quality of images.

  3. Multiphoton Microscopy

    Mode-locked pulsed lasers are used for deep tissue imaging and optical sectioning.

  4. Introduction to Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs)

    Fundamental properties of CCDs, including pixels, readout, noise, and timing.

  5. Properties of Microscope Objectives

    Discussion of numerical aperture, magnification, and aberration correction.

  6. Principles of Birefringence

    Defined as double refraction of light in a transparent, molecularly ordered material.

  7. Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscopy

    TIRF restricts the excitation and detection of fluorophores to a thin region of the specimen.

  8. Infinity Optical Systems

    These microscopes feature a parallel optical path between the objective and the tube lens.

  9. Introduction to Fluorescent Proteins

    Genetically-encoded fluorescent probes that are revolutionizing live-cell imaging.

  10. Fluorescence Filter Combinations

    Discussion of the properties of various fluorescence filter combinations.