Upright Microscope or Inverted Microscope?
Before answering this question, it is necessary to clarify the differences between upright microscopes and inverted microscopes.
Metallographic microscopes, also known as material microscopes, are mainly used to observe the microstructure of metals. They can be divided into upright metallographic microscopes and inverted metallographic microscopes.
An upright metallographic microscope forms an image during observation, which brings great convenience for users to view and distinguish. Except for specimens with a height greater than 20–30 mm, it conforms to people's usual observation habits. Therefore, it is widely used for observing transparent, translucent or opaque substances, with observation targets ranging from 3 microns to 20 microns, such as metals, ceramics, electronic chips, printed circuits, LCD substrates, thin films, fibers, particle samples, coatings and material surface structures. The traces can be well preserved and stored. In addition, the supporting imaging system can connect to a computer to capture both static and dynamic images. It can be equipped with various software to meet more professional needs in metallography, measurement, teaching and scientific research. The inverted metallographic microscope uses optical imaging methods to identify and analyze the structures of various metals and alloys. It is an important tool for physical metallurgy research. It is widely used in factories and laboratories for casting inspection, raw material inspection, and structural analysis of metal materials after heat treatment, so as to provide intuitive analysis results. It is the key equipment for quality identification in casting, smelting and heat treatment processes in mining, metallurgy, manufacturing and machinery processing industries. In recent years, the electronics industry needs high-magnification flat specimens to support chip production. For this reason, inverted metallographic microscopes have been introduced into this field and are continuously upgraded to meet the special inspection requirements of the industry. Different from the inverted type, the observation surface of the specimen on an upright metallographic microscope faces downward and is placed on the specimen stage, while the objective lens is located under the stage for upward observation. This form is not limited by specimen height, offering convenient operation, compact structure and attractive appearance. The base of the inverted metallographic microscope has a large supporting area and low center of gravity for stable operation. The eyepiece tube is inclined at 45° relative to the supporting surface for comfortable viewing.
