Dark-field light scattering microscope with focus stabilization

We present detailed design and operation instructions for a single-objective inverted microscope. Our design is suitable for two dark-field modes of operation: 1- total internal reflection scattering, and 2- cross-polarization backscattering. The user can switch between the two modes by exchanging o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Anna Peters, Zhu Zhang, Sanli Faez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-06-01
Series:HardwareX
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067223000317
Description
Summary:We present detailed design and operation instructions for a single-objective inverted microscope. Our design is suitable for two dark-field modes of operation: 1- total internal reflection scattering, and 2- cross-polarization backscattering. The user can switch between the two modes by exchanging one mode-steering element, which is also adapted to the Thorlabs cage system. To establish a stable background speckle for differential microscopy the imaging plane is stabilized with active feedback. We validate the stabilization efficacy by performing long-term scattering measurement on single nanoparticles. This setup can be extended for simultaneous scattering, fluorescence, and confocal imaging modes.
ISSN:2468-0672