4.2
Sample Stage
The sample stage has two separate control
knobs, one located next to the laser power
switch which controls the vertical (z) transla-
tion stage shown in Fig. 4, and a second set
of vertically aligned knobs on the other side of
the microscope which control the x-y transla-
tions of the stage, in Fig. 4(a).
The sample stage has several custom sample holders available, which are designed to hold
standard microscope slides or sample dishes. The magnification of the microscope is depen-
dent on the Source to Object Distance (SOD), and the vertical position of the sample stage
controls this.
Warning
: Be careful of the point source when moving the vertical sample stage
position;
DO NOT
touch the point source.
(a) The x-y controls
Figure 4: The z control knob for the sample stage
Increase SOD
Magnification
Decreases
Decrease SOD
Magnification
Increases
4.3
Point Source
Located in the lower portion of the microscope (Fig. 5), the point source is made of an IIIB
405 nm laser, a 60x objective and a pinhole a similar size to the wavelength of the laser. The
pinhole is on the exposed platinum foil shown, and is
extremely fragile
. Please refer to the
“General Safety Information” at the start of this manual.
Figure 5: Point source assembly
5
