What is the laser confocal microscope's resolution?
True color confocal microscope and laser scanning confocal microscope are basically the same in imaging principle, the biggest difference is that the illumination source is different.
1. Laser scanning confocal microscope The illumination source of laser scanning confocal microscope is laser, that is, monochromatic light. The actual imaging process is based on the intensity of the reflected light of the monochromatic laser from the observed object. Since it is monochromatic Chromatic light illumination, can not distinguish the color, for the same sample in the same field of view, the color is different, but the different tissues or components with the same light intensity reflected by the monochromatic laser cannot be distinguished. It is easy to produce the same phase and different colors, the same color and different phases This phenomenon is not conducive to the correct identification of microstructure and composition.
2. The light source of the true color confocal microscope is a xenon light source, that is, white light. The actual imaging process is to comprehensively image the shape (including color) of the object under the condition of white light illumination. Because it is polychromatic light Illumination and imaging, the true color confocal microscope can more truly reflect the color and shape of the object, avoiding the phenomenon of the same phase and different colors and the same color and different phases produced by the laser scanning confocal microscope, the observer can distinguish and judge through the color The composition and organization of the sample. In this regard, its resolution is much stronger than the comprehensive analysis of the laser scanning confocal microscope: under the observation conditions of samples with color differences, the true color confocal microscope avoids the laser scanning confocal microscope. The phenomenon of the same phase and different color, same color and different phase occurs, the observer can distinguish and judge the composition and organization of the sample through the color. Under this condition, the resolution of the true color confocal microscope is higher than that of the laser scanning confocal microscope. Under the observation conditions of monochromatic samples, the resolution is close to the respective technical indicators. However, in the actual observed samples, most of the different tissues and components have color differences. Corresponding to no color difference or For samples with small color differences, artificial dyeing (such as corrosion treatment) can be used to improve the resolution of the image. In this regard, the laser scanning confocal microscope is powerless. In addition, the resolution can only be achieved under certain conditions. It is a technical indicator, when the technical condition is not met in actual use (in fact, it is often not met), its resolution is not up to the given value. The picture below is the nickel-chromium alloy The imaging in the confocal microscope, and the comparison of the image formed by using the true color confocal microscope, in which the red circle is the doping of different compounds, you can clearly see the image formed by the monochromatic laser confocal microscope, only the gray The degree of concentration cannot accurately reflect the difference between the compound doping, but the true color confocal can clearly distinguish their difference.
