This book offers a comprehensive introduction to confocal microscopy - with a particular focus on spectral confocal microscopy. Beginning with an introduction to optical lenses, it provides a guide to compound microscopes and explains related topics like microscopic resolution. It then presents an outline of fluorescence and its corresponding implications for microscopy. The following excursus on the confocal beam paths includes implementation of acousto-optical devices and modern sensor techniques. Complex relationships are explained in a comprehensible manner, supported by many graphical figures. Discussing the principles of magnifying optics and the technical fundamentals and modes of operation of modern laser scanning microscopes, it is a valuable resource for student and lab technicians as well as faculty members.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to confocal microscopy - with a particular focus on spectral confocal microscopy. Beginning with an introduction to optical lenses, it provides a guide to compound microscopes and explains related topics like microscopic resolution. It then presents an outline of fluorescence and its corresponding implications for microscopy. The following excursus on the confocal beam paths includes implementation of acousto-optical devices and modern sensor techniques. Complex relationships are explained in a comprehensible manner, supported by many graphical figures. Discussing the principles of magnifying optics and the technical fundamentals and modes of operation of modern laser scanning microscopes, it is a valuable resource for student and lab technicians as well as faculty members.

This essential explains what distinguishes light sheet microscopy from ordinary light microscopy. The author briefly examines the history of such principles, focusing on the technical concepts. Finally, current manifestations are presented without descending into the depths of the art of engineering. The unusual feature of light-sheet microscopy is not only that observation and illumination take place at a right angle, but also that this type of microscopy gains in particular from the fact that the type of illumination only passes through a very small part of the specimen. The appropriate selection of optical elements ensures that the observed image no longer contains any blurred parts. This Springer essential is a translation of the original German 1st edition essentials, Die Lichtblattmikroskopie by Rolf Theodor Borlinghaus, published by Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, part of Springer Nature in 2017. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.

In diesem essential wird erlautert, was die Lichtblattmikroskopie von gewoehnlicher Lichtmikroskopie unterscheidet. Der Autor beleuchtet kurz die Historie solcher Verfahren, wobei der Schwerpunkt auf den technischen Konzepten liegt. Schliesslich werden aktuelle Erscheinungsformen vorgestellt, ohne in die Tiefen der Ingenieurskunst hinabzusteigen. Die Ungewoehnlichkeit der Lichtblattmikroskopie besteht nicht nur darin, dass Betrachtung und Beleuchtung unter einem rechten Winkel stattfinden, vielmehr gewinnt diese Art der Mikroskopie vor allem dadurch, dass durch die Art der Beleuchtung nur ein ganz kleiner Teil des Praparates durchstrahlt wird. Die geeignete Auswahl der optischen Elemente sorgt dafur, dass das beobachtete Bild keine unscharfen Anteile mehr enthalt.

Rolf T. Borlinghaus erlautert die Ursachen fur die klassische Begrenzung der Lichtmikroskopie und beleuchtet die neuen Super-Hochaufloesungstechniken. Dies ist besonders aktuell, da der Nobelpreis 2014 fur Chemie fur die Entwicklung von Technologien vergeben wurde, die es nun ermoeglichen, mit Lichtmikroskopen feinere Details aufzuloesen, als es die klassische Theorie einschrankend vorhersagt. Diese neuen Methoden stellen aber nicht das bisherige Weltbild der Optik in Frage, vielmehr nutzen sie ganz andere Phanomene, um mittels klassischer Optik Positionsbestimmungen von Molekulen durchzufuhren. Das ist theoretisch beliebig genau moeglich.