In order to achieve such high resolution and speed, the system employs confocal scanning technology without moving parts in the sensor head for enhanced reproducibility and stability. Switching between techniques is also fast and simple with only one mouse click required.
Christof Scherrer, IMPE, Winterthur, Switzerland, says: “We decided to buy the Leica DCM system due to its ability to operate as an optical microscope with brightfield, darkfield and confocal, as well as three interferometric modes. Flexibility is the most important factor for a diversified institute working in materials science such as ours.”
In addition to the different technologies for observation and analysis, the system is an ideal instrument for accurate color documentation of samples. A wide choice of high-quality Leica objectives together with four LED light sources – blue (460nm), green (530nm), red (630nm), and white (centered 550nm) – and an integrated CCD camera deliver true-to-life color images. The camera has a large field of view – and if this is not enough, the XY topography-stitching mode can be chosen to obtain a seamless, precise model of a larger area. The intuitive software enables users to simplify complicated 3D and 2D analyses and can be configured to their needs.
