Five Steps for Optical Maintenance of Microscopes
① Keeping optical components clean is essential for maintaining good optical performance. When the microscope is not in use, cover it with the dust cover supplied with the instrument. If dust or contaminants are present on optical surfaces or the instrument body, blow away dust with an air blower or remove dirt with a soft brush before wiping the surfaces.
② Optical surfaces of the microscope shall be cleaned with lint-free cloth, lens tissue, or cotton swabs moistened with dedicated lens cleaning solution. Avoid excessive solvent. The lens tissue or swab should be dampened moderately. Too much solvent may seep into the objective lens, resulting in degraded image sharpness and permanent lens damage.
③ The front surfaces of eyepieces and objectives are prone to contamination by dust, dirt and oil. When contrast and clarity decline or a hazy fog appears, inspect the front lenses of eyepieces and objectives carefully with a magnifier.
④ Low-power objectives feature relatively large front lens elements. They can be wiped gently with ethanol-moistened cotton cloth wrapped around a finger, cotton swabs or lens tissue. Special care is required for 40× and 100× objectives under magnified inspection. High-power objectives adopt a front lens with a concave surface of small radius of curvature to achieve superior flatness of field. Clean this lens gently with a cotton-tipped wooden stick or cotton swab. Do not apply excessive force or scrape the surface, and ensure the cotton tip reaches the concave area of the lens. After cleaning, check the objective for damage with a magnifier. When removing the observation tube, take care not to touch the exposed lens underneath. Fingerprints on the lens surface reduce imaging sharpness and should be cleaned using the same procedure for objective lenses.
⑤ After using the 100× oil immersion objective, wipe the lens surface clean promptly. Also check whether the 40× objective is contaminated with immersion oil and clean it immediately if so, to keep the microscope delivering consistently sharp images.
