LSM 710 and LSM 780
ANNEX
Systems
The Use of the Piezo Fine Focusing Stage
Carl Zeiss
02/2010 M60-1-0025
e
17
7.10
The Use of the Piezo Fine Focusing Stage
7.10.1
General Description
The Piezo fine focusing stage is a compact attachment for the Axio Imager.Z2, Axioskop 2 FS
MOT
and
Axio Observer.Z1 microscope stages, which allows the particularly fast and high-precision fine focusing of
the object. The piezo stage permits fine focusing over a range of up to 250 µm (200 µm guaranteed),
with the smallest step width being less than 10 nm, reproducibility better than 40 nm, and the maximum
speed amounting to 60 Hz. The stage allows the use of specimens with a weight of less than 100 g.
The piezo stage is not used if manual coarse focusing is performed. To position the objective in relation
to the optical Z-axis, the standard XY-microscope stage is used.
The piezo stage features a mount for standard object carriers of 76 mm x 26 mm x 1 mm and a milled-
out receptacle for
∅
36 mm x 1 mm Petri dishes.
7.10.2
Applications of the Piezo Fine Focusing Stage
−
High-precision fine focusing and translation of the object along the optical axis.
−
Fast and high-precision mounting of one-dimensional Z-line sections.
−
Fast and high-precision mounting of two-dimensional R-Z-longitudinal sections.
−
Fast and high-precision mounting of XY-Z-Stacks for the three-dimensional reconstruction of the
object.
−
Exact measurement of Point-Spread-Functions for deconvolution.
7.10.3
Additional Information on the Operation
The piezo fine focusing stage is a high-precision, sensitive accessory for the LSM systems from Carl Zeiss
and must therefore be treated carefully.
High mechanical stress, such as the use of specimens weighing more than 100 g or the application of
pressure or knocks on the movable stage tongue, can result in damage and therefore in failure of the
stage function.
To be able to fully utilize the outstanding precision attainable with the fine focusing stage, anything
which could interfere with its operation, especially mechanical knocks and impact of the LSM system
components, should be avoided. We would recommend you to always use the actively vibration-damped
table.
The specifications of the stage are obtained only after a warm-up phase of approx. 30 minutes.
Furthermore, the installation conditions for the LSM system must be observed.
The maximum reproducibility (better than 40 nm) for moving to an absolute position in Z is achieved by
always moving to the required position from below.