Re: microscope condensers


"steve" <highstes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1164924594.599297.319780@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I am trying to design a condenser to be used with my Zeiss Axioskop to
achieve Nomarsky optics (DIC). The problem with using the scope "off
the shelf" is that I desire to look at tissue in a living fish. The
ordinary condenser is just too big to insert under the tissue in
question. I have been contemplating using a light pipe for the light
source component of the condenser with a 90 degree mirror at its end. I
was planning to stack a Walleston prism, polarizer, and top lens on the
mirror. However, it occurred to me that if I could employ the Walleston
and polarizer at the other end of the fiber where the light enters,
then the front profile of the light pipe would remain small. Further,
if the mirror end of the fiber was touching the tissue, the need for an
na. matching condenser top lens might be minimized. Do you know of any
fibers that would maintain the polarization and Walleston-light beam
split from the input to the output end? I am planning to use water
immersion 40 and 63X DIC lenses for the objectives. Thanks , smh

Mostly what you describe won't work. A Wollaston prism isn't what you need
for Nomarsky, you need a Wollaston prism modified by Nomarski's technique,
please see Nomarki's first paper on this. This requires that you know the
NA, size, optical size, physical position and optical position. The you
need to do the same thing for the objective. Now if you have to push light
from a Nomarski equiped condenser through a fish the odds of getting a good
Nomarski effect out of that aren't very good. The usual craveats apply, if
you have to go through millimeters of stuff, the light beam won't be the
same as when it went in.

There was a coherent fiber optic system built for a late '80's SEM but it
was very, very expensive to make. I don't get why you need a mirror at all,
if you are using a fiber why have a mirror?

If I were you I would look at using reflected light. The results would be
better, you could use Nomarski to great effect and fluorescence would be
availible. Zeiss makes reflected light cubes for fluorescence and
industrial use for the same illuminator package. I've seen customers with
Axios with brightfield and FA cubes.

Challenging idea. Glad I don't have to do it!

Thanks,

Kevin Cunningham
SMS


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