OPMI: Optical Microscopy

The optical microscope is one of the oldest and is perhaps the most common scientific instrument, used across life, medical, physical, and applied sciences. Modern optical microscopes come in many varieties, and improvements in optical microscopy have lead to several Nobel Prizes: the Ultramicroscope (Chemistry 1925), Phase-Contrast Microscopy (Physics 1953), and Super-Resolved Fluorescent Microscopy (Chemistry 2014). This last prize was for optically imaging single molecules!

This is a new apparatus and there is not yet a write-up

(The experiment is currently located in MP248

There is, however, extensive documentation from the manufacturer of the kit. You will start by doing the first few exercises in the Lab Notes, and then decide - in consultation with your Instructor - which of the other exercises to do.

Thorlabs Optical Microscopy Kit Videos

These videos and lab notes are for APL use only and must not be copied or distributed.

• Overview
• Basic Assembly
• Camera Software Quick Start
• Kohler Illumination
• Back Focal Plane
• Spectrometer Software Quick Start

Optical Microscopy Apparatus