How to measure objective transmission curves?

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Michael Weber-4 Michael Weber-4
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How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Dear all,

one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.

My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp with a
more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of optical bench.
This would make the setup independent from the manufacturer. Beside the
distance between the light source and the detector, there are obviously
more things to consider: different diameter of the back focal plane,
different focal lenghts...

I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure objective
transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did you find a setup
that worked for you?

cheers,
Michael
Andrew Resnick Andrew Resnick
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.

The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was light
source -> objective -> integrating sphere -> spectrometer.  After
normalizing to the source, we obtained really good data.  It's pretty
easy, actually.

Andy


At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:

>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
>Dear all,
>
>one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
>efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
>trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
>
>My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp with
>a more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of optical
>bench. This would make the setup independent from the manufacturer.
>Beside the distance between the light source and the detector, there
>are obviously more things to consider: different diameter of the
>back focal plane, different focal lenghts...
>
>I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure
>objective transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did you
>find a setup that worked for you?
>
>cheers,
>Michael

Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
Instructor
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Case Western Reserve University
216-368-6899 (V)
216-368-4223 (F)
Rietdorf, Jens Rietdorf, Jens
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Dear Michael & Andy,

For Olympus lenses you can look it up on the web...the info for other
manufacturers lenses would be interesting though; do you plan to publish
the numbers? Andy, would you mind to disclose yours?

regards, jens
 
---
Dr. Jens Rietdorf
Head Microscopy
Novartis Research Foundation
Friedrich-Miescher-Institute, wro1066.2.32
Maulbeerstr.66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
phone +41(61)69-75172 mobil +41 798284737
Email:rietdorf(at)fmi.ch

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On
Behalf Of Andrew Resnick
Sent: Freitag, 31. August 2007 17:00
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.

The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was light
source -> objective -> integrating sphere -> spectrometer.  After
normalizing to the source, we obtained really good data.  It's pretty
easy, actually.

Andy


At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:

>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
>Dear all,
>
>one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
>efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
>trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
>
>My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp with a
>more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of optical bench.
>This would make the setup independent from the manufacturer.
>Beside the distance between the light source and the detector, there
>are obviously more things to consider: different diameter of the back
>focal plane, different focal lenghts...
>
>I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure objective
>transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did you find a setup

>that worked for you?
>
>cheers,
>Michael

Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
Instructor
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Case Western Reserve University
216-368-6899 (V)
216-368-4223 (F)
Jennifer Waters Jennifer Waters
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
 
Hi Jens,
 
Can you tell us where to find the Olympus lenses transmission online?  I looked on their website but couldn't find it.
 
Thanks, Jennifer

 
On 8/31/07, Rietdorf, Jens <[hidden email]> wrote:
Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Dear Michael & Andy,

For Olympus lenses you can look it up on the web...the info for other
manufacturers lenses would be interesting though; do you plan to publish
the numbers? Andy, would you mind to disclose yours?

regards, jens

---
Dr. Jens Rietdorf
Head Microscopy
Novartis Research Foundation
Friedrich-Miescher-Institute, wro1066.2.32
Maulbeerstr.66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
phone +41(61)69-75172 mobil +41 798284737
Email:rietdorf(at)fmi.ch

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On
Behalf Of Andrew Resnick
Sent: Freitag, 31. August 2007 17:00
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.

The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was light
source -> objective -> integrating sphere -> spectrometer.  After
normalizing to the source, we obtained really good data.  It's pretty
easy, actually.

Andy


At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:

>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
>Dear all,
>
>one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
>efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
>trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
>
>My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp with a
>more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of optical bench.
>This would make the setup independent from the manufacturer.
>Beside the distance between the light source and the detector, there
>are obviously more things to consider: different diameter of the back
>focal plane, different focal lenghts...
>
>I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure objective
>transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did you find a setup

>that worked for you?
>
>cheers,
>Michael

Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
Instructor
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Case Western Reserve University
216-368-6899 (V)
216-368-4223 (F)



--
Jennifer Waters, Ph.D.
Director, Nikon Imaging Center at Harvard Medical School
FAN CHANG FAN CHANG
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal Hi, Jennifer:

Please check the link.
http://www.olympusamerica.com/seg_section/uis2/seg_uis2_uplsapo_60xo.asp.
It is Olympus UPLSAPO 60x oil lens.
You could find "UPLSAPO", "PLAPON", "UPLFLN","LUCPLFLN" series lens spectrum data.

Best regards
Fan Chang


--------------------------------------------------
Fan Chang
National Center for Microscopy & Imaging Research
University of California San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
Basic Science Building #1000
La Jolla, CA 92093-0608, USA
Tel: 858 534-2583
Fax: 858 534-7497
--------------------------------------------------


Search the CONFOCAL archive at http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
 
Hi Jens,
 
Can you tell us where to find the Olympus lenses transmission online?  I looked on their website but couldn't find it.
 
Thanks, Jennifer

 
On 8/31/07, Rietdorf, Jens <[hidden email]> wrote:
Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Dear Michael & Andy,

For Olympus lenses you can look it up on the web...the info for other
manufacturers lenses would be interesting though; do you plan to publish
the numbers? Andy, would you mind to disclose yours?

regards, jens

---
Dr. Jens Rietdorf
Head Microscopy
Novartis Research Foundation
Friedrich-Miescher-Institute, wro1066.2.32
Maulbeerstr.66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
phone +41(61)69-75172 mobil +41 798284737
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="Email:rietdorf(at)fmi.ch">Email:rietdorf(at)fmi.ch

-

Mark Cannell Mark Cannell
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

In reply to this post by Andrew Resnick
Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Hi Andrew

While I can see that method would work for lenses designed to work in
air, wouldn't total internal reflection be a problem for lenses with an
NA over 1.0? The only way I can think of doing it is to use two
objectives of the same type looking at each other at a common focal
point with the right immersion medium between them. Then the overall
transmission would be half that of a single lens...

Cheers Mark

Andrew Resnick wrote:

> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
> We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.
>
> The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was light
> source -> objective -> integrating sphere -> spectrometer.  After
> normalizing to the source, we obtained really good data.  It's pretty
> easy, actually.
>
> Andy
>
>
> At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:
>> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
>> efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
>> trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
>>
>> My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp with
>> a more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of optical
>> bench. This would make the setup independent from the manufacturer.
>> Beside the distance between the light source and the detector, there
>> are obviously more things to consider: different diameter of the back
>> focal plane, different focal lenghts...
>>
>> I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure
>> objective transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did you
>> find a setup that worked for you?
>>
>> cheers,
>> Michael
>
> Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
> Instructor
> Department of Physiology and Biophysics
> Case Western Reserve University
> 216-368-6899 (V)
> 216-368-4223 (F)
Sudipta Maiti Sudipta Maiti
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

If you are interested in the transmission characterisitics of the
material of the objective, the NA should not be a big
issue. You can put an iris in the
beam and make it thin before entering the objective. Do take the iris
transmission as the baseline (this of course will tell you nothing about
the transmission of the peripheral, high angle rays)..

With an iris and with no integrating sphere available, you should still be able
to get a reasonable estimate of the wavelength dependent transmission
from a simple spectrophotometer.

Sudipta

On
Mon, 3 Sep 2007, Mark Cannell wrote:

> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
> Hi Andrew
>
> While I can see that method would work for lenses designed to work in air,
> wouldn't total internal reflection be a problem for lenses with an NA over
> 1.0? The only way I can think of doing it is to use two objectives of the
> same type looking at each other at a common focal point with the right
> immersion medium between them. Then the overall transmission would be half
> that of a single lens...
>
> Cheers Mark
>
> Andrew Resnick wrote:
>>  Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>  http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>
>>  We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.
>>
>>  The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was light
>>  source -> objective -> integrating sphere -> spectrometer.  After
>>  normalizing to the source, we obtained really good data.  It's pretty
>>  easy, actually.
>>
>>  Andy
>>
>>
>>  At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:
>> >  Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>> >  http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>> >
>> >  Dear all,
>> >
>> >  one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
>> >  efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
>> >  trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
>> >
>> >  My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp with a
>> >  more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of optical bench.
>> >  This would make the setup independent from the manufacturer. Beside the
>> >  distance between the light source and the detector, there are obviously
>> >  more things to consider: different diameter of the back focal plane,
>> >  different focal lenghts...
>> >
>> >  I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure objective
>> >  transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did you find a setup
>> >  that worked for you?
>> >
>> >  cheers,
>> >  Michael
>>
>>  Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
>>  Instructor
>>  Department of Physiology and Biophysics
>>  Case Western Reserve University
>>  216-368-6899 (V)
>>  216-368-4223 (F)
>
>

--
Sudipta Maiti
Dept. of Chemical Sciences
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400005, India
91-22-2278-2716
www.tifr.res.in/~biophotonics
Andrew Resnick Andrew Resnick
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

In reply to this post by Mark Cannell
Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Mark,

That's a good question.  We attached a coverslip with a small drop of
oil to the objective as a way to deal with immersion objectives.  I
don't know what it means that the "sample" is in air; if some light
is then totally internally reflected back into the coverslip, which
could be a spectral issue due to dispersion.

Using two matched objectives is probably a better method, but I
imagine considerably more difficult due to alignment constraints and
obtaining matched objectives.  The objectives we had obeyed the 'sine
condition', which I believe means that there are fewer high-NA rays
than low NA rays- this would help mitigate our experimental error as well.


At 04:19 PM 9/2/2007, you wrote:

>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
>Hi Andrew
>
>While I can see that method would work for lenses designed to work
>in air, wouldn't total internal reflection be a problem for lenses
>with an NA over 1.0? The only way I can think of doing it is to use
>two objectives of the same type looking at each other at a common
>focal point with the right immersion medium between them. Then the
>overall transmission would be half that of a single lens...
>
>Cheers Mark
>
>Andrew Resnick wrote:
>>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>
>>We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.
>>
>>The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was
>>light source -> objective -> integrating sphere ->
>>spectrometer.  After normalizing to the source, we obtained really
>>good data.  It's pretty easy, actually.
>>
>>Andy
>>
>>
>>At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:
>>>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>>
>>>Dear all,
>>>
>>>one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
>>>efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
>>>trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
>>>
>>>My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp
>>>with a more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of
>>>optical bench. This would make the setup independent from the
>>>manufacturer. Beside the distance between the light source and the
>>>detector, there are obviously more things to consider: different
>>>diameter of the back focal plane, different focal lenghts...
>>>
>>>I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure
>>>objective transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did
>>>you find a setup that worked for you?
>>>
>>>cheers,
>>>Michael
>>
>>Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
>>Instructor
>>Department of Physiology and Biophysics
>>Case Western Reserve University
>>216-368-6899 (V)
>>216-368-4223 (F)
>
>Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
>Instructor
>Department of Physiology and Biophysics
>Case Western Reserve University
>216-368-6899 (V)
>216-368-4223 (F)
Andrew Resnick Andrew Resnick
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

In reply to this post by Rietdorf, Jens
Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Jens,

I could not find the data- I must have left it behind.  I don;t
recall anything odd; the transmission curves were uniformly high in
the visible and dropped off to about 50%, IIRC, at 1064 nm (the laser
tweezer wavelength).

Andy

At 10:04 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:

>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
>Dear Michael & Andy,
>
>For Olympus lenses you can look it up on the web...the info for other
>manufacturers lenses would be interesting though; do you plan to publish
>the numbers? Andy, would you mind to disclose yours?
>
>regards, jens
>
>---
>Dr. Jens Rietdorf
>Head Microscopy
>Novartis Research Foundation
>Friedrich-Miescher-Institute, wro1066.2.32
>Maulbeerstr.66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
>phone +41(61)69-75172 mobil +41 798284737
>Email:rietdorf(at)fmi.ch
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On
>Behalf Of Andrew Resnick
>Sent: Freitag, 31. August 2007 17:00
>To: [hidden email]
>Subject: Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?
>
>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
>We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.
>
>The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was light
>source -> objective -> integrating sphere -> spectrometer.  After
>normalizing to the source, we obtained really good data.  It's pretty
>easy, actually.
>
>Andy
>
>
>At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:
> >Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> >http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
> >
> >Dear all,
> >
> >one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
> >efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
> >trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
> >
> >My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp with a
> >more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of optical bench.
> >This would make the setup independent from the manufacturer.
> >Beside the distance between the light source and the detector, there
> >are obviously more things to consider: different diameter of the back
> >focal plane, different focal lenghts...
> >
> >I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure objective
> >transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did you find a setup
>
> >that worked for you?
> >
> >cheers,
> >Michael
>
>Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
>Instructor
>Department of Physiology and Biophysics
>Case Western Reserve University
>216-368-6899 (V)
>216-368-4223 (F)

Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
Instructor
Department of Physiology and Biophysics
Case Western Reserve University
216-368-6899 (V)
216-368-4223 (F)
Mark Cannell Mark Cannell
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

In reply to this post by Andrew Resnick
Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Hi Andrew

All rays whose effective  NA >1 get reflected back by the system you
describe. There are more high NA rays than low NA rays (due to the area
of an annulus increasing with it's radius : pi(2r dr). As I see it, one
can't measure the true throughput with axial rays as the marginal rays
encouner very different glass thicknesses and there may be internal
field stops (or even phase rings!). The measurement of throughput is
certainly not going to be easy. I don't see how this is related to the
sine condition, which I believe simply defines a geometric constraint
for an undistorted image viz:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbe_sine_condition

Cheers Mark


Andrew Resnick wrote:

> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
> Mark,
>
> That's a good question.  We attached a coverslip with a small drop of
> oil to the objective as a way to deal with immersion objectives.  I
> don't know what it means that the "sample" is in air; if some light is
> then totally internally reflected back into the coverslip, which could
> be a spectral issue due to dispersion.
>
> Using two matched objectives is probably a better method, but I
> imagine considerably more difficult due to alignment constraints and
> obtaining matched objectives.  The objectives we had obeyed the 'sine
> condition', which I believe means that there are fewer high-NA rays
> than low NA rays- this would help mitigate our experimental error as
> well.
>
>
> At 04:19 PM 9/2/2007, you wrote:
>> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>
>> Hi Andrew
>>
>> While I can see that method would work for lenses designed to work in
>> air, wouldn't total internal reflection be a problem for lenses with
>> an NA over 1.0? The only way I can think of doing it is to use two
>> objectives of the same type looking at each other at a common focal
>> point with the right immersion medium between them. Then the overall
>> transmission would be half that of a single lens...
>>
>> Cheers Mark
>>
>> Andrew Resnick wrote:
>>> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>>
>>> We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.
>>>
>>> The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was light
>>> source -> objective -> integrating sphere -> spectrometer.  After
>>> normalizing to the source, we obtained really good data.  It's
>>> pretty easy, actually.
>>>
>>> Andy
>>>
>>>
>>> At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:
>>>> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>>> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>>>
>>>> Dear all,
>>>>
>>>> one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
>>>> efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
>>>> trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
>>>>
>>>> My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp
>>>> with a more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of
>>>> optical bench. This would make the setup independent from the
>>>> manufacturer. Beside the distance between the light source and the
>>>> detector, there are obviously more things to consider: different
>>>> diameter of the back focal plane, different focal lenghts...
>>>>
>>>> I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure
>>>> objective transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did
>>>> you find a setup that worked for you?
>>>>
>>>> cheers,
>>>> Michael
>>>
>>> Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
>>> Instructor
>>> Department of Physiology and Biophysics
>>> Case Western Reserve University
>>> 216-368-6899 (V)
>>> 216-368-4223 (F)
>>
>> Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
>> Instructor
>> Department of Physiology and Biophysics
>> Case Western Reserve University
>> 216-368-6899 (V)
>> 216-368-4223 (F)
Guy Cox Guy Cox
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?
People do seem to be making rather heavy weather of this,
which would seem fairly simple to me.  First off, there's
no need to use oil - the acceptance angle of the lens is
not affected in any way by the presence or absence of
oil (resolution and aberration correction are a different
matter!).   The acceptance angle of an NA 1.4 lens is
67.5 deg.  One could put an integrating sphere over the
lens if one is really worried that transmission for paraxial
and abaxial rays is different.  One could also test this point
by using a parallel beam and measuring first on the optic
axis and then at an angle of (say) 60 deg. 
 
In fact, this would be quite useful to know since such an
effect would impact on effective NA in confocal and MP
microscopy.
 
                                                                     Guy
 
Optical Imaging Techniques in Cell Biology
by Guy Cox    CRC Press / Taylor & Francis
   http://www.guycox.com/optical.htm
______________________________________________
Associate Professor Guy Cox, MA, DPhil(Oxon)
Electron Microscope Unit, Madsen Building F09,
University of Sydney, NSW 2006
______________________________________________
Phone +61 2 9351 3176     Fax +61 2 9351 7682
Mobile 0413 281 861
______________________________________________
http://www.guycox.net


From: Confocal Microscopy List on behalf of Mark Cannell
Sent: Wed 5/09/2007 9:15 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Hi Andrew

All rays whose effective  NA >1 get reflected back by the system you
describe. There are more high NA rays than low NA rays (due to the area
of an annulus increasing with it's radius : pi(2r dr). As I see it, one
can't measure the true throughput with axial rays as the marginal rays
encouner very different glass thicknesses and there may be internal
field stops (or even phase rings!). The measurement of throughput is
certainly not going to be easy. I don't see how this is related to the
sine condition, which I believe simply defines a geometric constraint
for an undistorted image viz:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbe_sine_condition

Cheers Mark


Andrew Resnick wrote:
> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
> Mark,
>
> That's a good question.  We attached a coverslip with a small drop of
> oil to the objective as a way to deal with immersion objectives.  I
> don't know what it means that the "sample" is in air; if some light is
> then totally internally reflected back into the coverslip, which could
> be a spectral issue due to dispersion.
>
> Using two matched objectives is probably a better method, but I
> imagine considerably more difficult due to alignment constraints and
> obtaining matched objectives.  The objectives we had obeyed the 'sine
> condition', which I believe means that there are fewer high-NA rays
> than low NA rays- this would help mitigate our experimental error as
> well.
>
>
> At 04:19 PM 9/2/2007, you wrote:
>> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>
>> Hi Andrew
>>
>> While I can see that method would work for lenses designed to work in
>> air, wouldn't total internal reflection be a problem for lenses with
>> an NA over 1.0? The only way I can think of doing it is to use two
>> objectives of the same type looking at each other at a common focal
>> point with the right immersion medium between them. Then the overall
>> transmission would be half that of a single lens...
>>
>> Cheers Mark
>>
>> Andrew Resnick wrote:
>>> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>>
>>> We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.
>>>
>>> The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was light
>>> source -> objective -> integrating sphere -> spectrometer.  After
>>> normalizing to the source, we obtained really good data.  It's
>>> pretty easy, actually.
>>>
>>> Andy
>>>
>>>
>>> At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:
>>>> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>>> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>>>
>>>> Dear all,
>>>>
>>>> one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
>>>> efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
>>>> trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
>>>>
>>>> My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp
>>>> with a more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of
>>>> optical bench. This would make the setup independent from the
>>>> manufacturer. Beside the distance between the light source and the
>>>> detector, there are obviously more things to consider: different
>>>> diameter of the back focal plane, different focal lenghts...
>>>>
>>>> I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure
>>>> objective transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did
>>>> you find a setup that worked for you?
>>>>
>>>> cheers,
>>>> Michael
>>>
>>> Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
>>> Instructor
>>> Department of Physiology and Biophysics
>>> Case Western Reserve University
>>> 216-368-6899 (V)
>>> 216-368-4223 (F)
>>
>> Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
>> Instructor
>> Department of Physiology and Biophysics
>> Case Western Reserve University
>> 216-368-6899 (V)
>> 216-368-4223 (F)

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Mark Cannell Mark Cannell
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Guy Cox wrote:
> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
> People do seem to be making rather heavy weather of this,
> which would seem fairly simple to me.  First off, there's
> no need to use oil - the acceptance angle of the lens is
> not affected in any way by the presence or absence of
> oil (resolution and aberration correction are a different
> matter!).
That's true but the reflective losses from the lens will depend on the
medium contacting the front lens. Of course this could be estimated from
the Fresnel equations and for a high NA oil immersion lens this will add
( I guess) about a 10%.
>  The acceptance angle of an NA 1.4 lens is
> 67.5 deg.  One could put an integrating sphere over the
> lens if one is really worried that transmission for paraxial
> and abaxial rays is different.  One could also test this point
> by using a parallel beam and measuring first on the optic
> axis and then at an angle of (say) 60 deg.
Hi Guy,

I don't think that will work because of the apertures present. If you
shine a // beam into the front of a high NA lens the beam will be highly
focussed within the lens body and the rear aperture may block some of
the light coming out (it depends where the back focal plane of the
objective is -for highly complex high NA lenses I'm not sure that that
is at the rear aperture). In addition I think reflective losses within
the lens will change as the input is not a cone of light with the
correct NA (i.e. the path of most of the rays is now completely
different). Also, real integrating spheres are _not_ Lambertian and
comparing a highly divergent beam to a highly collimated beam will also
likely give rise to an error (this is a well known problem). If you have
any lens design software you can simulate the problem quite easily.

I'd say the problem is so 'not simple' and manufacturers avoided
publishing transmission curves beacuse they are very hard to measure
correctly. I'll guess that that the curves now published by
manufacturers are actually produced by the lens design programs they
use. Modern optical design programs can incorportae the anti-replection
coatings to be applied and so the need for measurement is
reduced/simplified.

However, if one just wants to compare two lenses with the same NA then
your method could work -but it will be necessary to make sure the input
beam is not clipped.

Cheers Mark

>
>
> Associate Professor Guy Cox, MA, DPhil(Oxon)
> Electron Microscope Unit, Madsen Building F09,
> University of Sydney, NSW 2006
> ______________________________________________
> Phone +61 2 9351 3176     Fax +61 2 9351 7682
> Mobile 0413 281 861
> ______________________________________________
> http://www.guycox.net 
> </exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=https://www.mcws.usyd.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.guycox.net>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Confocal Microscopy List on behalf of Mark Cannell
> *Sent:* Wed 5/09/2007 9:15 AM
> *To:* [hidden email]
> *Subject:* Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?
>
> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
> Hi Andrew
>
> All rays whose effective  NA >1 get reflected back by the system you
> describe. There are more high NA rays than low NA rays (due to the area
> of an annulus increasing with it's radius : pi(2r dr). As I see it, one
> can't measure the true throughput with axial rays as the marginal rays
> encouner very different glass thicknesses and there may be internal
> field stops (or even phase rings!). The measurement of throughput is
> certainly not going to be easy. I don't see how this is related to the
> sine condition, which I believe simply defines a geometric constraint
> for an undistorted image viz:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbe_sine_condition
>
> Cheers Mark
>
>
> Andrew Resnick wrote:
> > Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> > http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
> >
> > Mark,
> >
> > That's a good question.  We attached a coverslip with a small drop of
> > oil to the objective as a way to deal with immersion objectives.  I
> > don't know what it means that the "sample" is in air; if some light is
> > then totally internally reflected back into the coverslip, which could
> > be a spectral issue due to dispersion.
> >
> > Using two matched objectives is probably a better method, but I
> > imagine considerably more difficult due to alignment constraints and
> > obtaining matched objectives.  The objectives we had obeyed the 'sine
> > condition', which I believe means that there are fewer high-NA rays
> > than low NA rays- this would help mitigate our experimental error as
> > well.
> >
> >
> > At 04:19 PM 9/2/2007, you wrote:
> >> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> >> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
> >>
> >> Hi Andrew
> >>
> >> While I can see that method would work for lenses designed to work in
> >> air, wouldn't total internal reflection be a problem for lenses with
> >> an NA over 1.0? The only way I can think of doing it is to use two
> >> objectives of the same type looking at each other at a common focal
> >> point with the right immersion medium between them. Then the overall
> >> transmission would be half that of a single lens...
> >>
> >> Cheers Mark
> >>
> >> Andrew Resnick wrote:
> >>> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> >>> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
> >>>
> >>> We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.
> >>>
> >>> The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was light
> >>> source -> objective -> integrating sphere -> spectrometer.  After
> >>> normalizing to the source, we obtained really good data.  It's
> >>> pretty easy, actually.
> >>>
> >>> Andy
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:
> >>>> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> >>>> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
> >>>>
> >>>> Dear all,
> >>>>
> >>>> one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
> >>>> efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
> >>>> trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
> >>>>
> >>>> My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp
> >>>> with a more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of
> >>>> optical bench. This would make the setup independent from the
> >>>> manufacturer. Beside the distance between the light source and the
> >>>> detector, there are obviously more things to consider: different
> >>>> diameter of the back focal plane, different focal lenghts...
> >>>>
> >>>> I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure
> >>>> objective transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did
> >>>> you find a setup that worked for you?
> >>>>
> >>>> cheers,
> >>>> Michael
> >>>
>
>  
>
James Pawley James Pawley
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

In reply to this post by Andrew Resnick
Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Hi all,

If it doesn't sound too commercial, I would like to note that a lot
of objective transmission curves are published in the 3rd Edition. In
fact I take some pride in the fact that the earlier editions of the
Handbook contain some of the first published transmission data on
commercial objectives.

One trick to get "all the light" out of an high NA is to oil-couple
it to the flat side of a very small hemispherical lens. Even a small
glass bead, with half of its thickness sticking out of the oil will
do.

But you have to hold your light sensor really close to it, and if you
aren't careful, because the light diverging from the focus in the
bead will leave it at such a large angle to the horizontal that a lot
of it may be reflected from the glass covering your sensor (or miss
it all together). An optometrical integrating sphere is better.

I just measure transmission of the system (mostly losses in the fiber
and filters) with the 10x lens and hope that the immersion lenses
"are what they are".  However, this won't show up a smear on the tube
lens that only obscures high-NA rays. I use the focusing ability of
the Bertrand lens (phase lens) to look for this by focusing up and
down through the optical column.  Amazing how much dust etc. you can
see this way!!.

Cheers,

Jim P.



>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
>Jens,
>
>I could not find the data- I must have left it behind.  I don;t
>recall anything odd; the transmission curves were uniformly high in
>the visible and dropped off to about 50%, IIRC, at 1064 nm (the
>laser tweezer wavelength).
>
>Andy
>
>At 10:04 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:
>>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>
>>Dear Michael & Andy,
>>
>>For Olympus lenses you can look it up on the web...the info for other
>>manufacturers lenses would be interesting though; do you plan to publish
>>the numbers? Andy, would you mind to disclose yours?
>>
>>regards, jens
>>
>>---
>>Dr. Jens Rietdorf
>>Head Microscopy
>>Novartis Research Foundation
>>Friedrich-Miescher-Institute, wro1066.2.32
>>Maulbeerstr.66, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland
>>phone +41(61)69-75172 mobil +41 798284737
>>Email:rietdorf(at)fmi.ch
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On
>>Behalf Of Andrew Resnick
>>Sent: Freitag, 31. August 2007 17:00
>>To: [hidden email]
>>Subject: Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?
>>
>>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>
>>We've done similar measurements, it's not too difficult.
>>
>>The main trick is handling the large NA lenses.  Our setup was light
>>source -> objective -> integrating sphere -> spectrometer.  After
>>normalizing to the source, we obtained really good data.  It's pretty
>>easy, actually.
>>
>>Andy
>>
>>
>>At 08:45 AM 8/31/2007, you wrote:
>>>Search the CONFOCAL archive at
>>>http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>>>
>>>Dear all,
>>>
>>>one of the main differences of objectives is their transmission
>>>efficiency at certain wavelengths. One way to compare this is the
>>>trial-and-error method, however, this is not straight forward.
>>>
>>>My idea is to use a combination of spectrophotometer and a lamp with a
>>>more or less even spectra (i.e. Xenon) on some kind of optical bench.
>>>This would make the setup independent from the manufacturer.
>>>Beside the distance between the light source and the detector, there
>>>are obviously more things to consider: different diameter of the back
>>>focal plane, different focal lenghts...
>>>
>>>I would like to hear about your opinion about how to measure objective
>>>transmission. Have you ever done this in your lab? Did you find a setup
>>
>>>that worked for you?
>>>
>>>cheers,
>>>Michael
>>
>>Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
>>Instructor
>>Department of Physiology and Biophysics
>>Case Western Reserve University
>>216-368-6899 (V)
>>216-368-4223 (F)
>
>Andrew Resnick, Ph. D.
>Instructor
>Department of Physiology and Biophysics
>Case Western Reserve University
>216-368-6899 (V)
>216-368-4223 (F)


--
               ****************************************
Prof. James B. Pawley,                 Ph.  608-263-3147
Room 223, Zoology Research Building,                         FAX  608-262-9083
250 N. Mills St., Madison, WI, 53706  [hidden email]
"A scientist is not one who can answer questions but one who can
question answers."  Theodore Schick Jr., Skeptical Enquirer, 21-2:39
Mark Cannell Mark Cannell
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Re: How to measure objective transmission curves?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Yes Jim!

That's a good method and if the hemispherical lens is well AR coated
then it should let the light out accurately. We used a drop of water on
top of a water lens a while back but that won't work for a horizontal
measuring system. Not sure about the detector angular dependence tho'.
It might be interesting  to compare the 'two lens method'  I suggested
(which will have no detector problems) with your integrating sphere
method...

Anyone here fancy getting a paper in microsc. techniques or optics letters?

Cheers Mark

though. the James Pawley wrote:

> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
>
> Hi all,
>
> If it doesn't sound too commercial, I would like to note that a lot of
> objective transmission curves are published in the 3rd Edition. In
> fact I take some pride in the fact that the earlier editions of the
> Handbook contain some of the first published transmission data on
> commercial objectives.
>
> One trick to get "all the light" out of an high NA is to oil-couple it
> to the flat side of a very small hemispherical lens. Even a small
> glass bead, with half of its thickness sticking out of the oil will do.
>
> But you have to hold your light sensor really close to it, and if you
> aren't careful, because the light diverging from the focus in the bead
> will leave it at such a large angle to the horizontal that a lot of it
> may be reflected from the glass covering your sensor (or miss it all
> together). An optometrical integrating sphere is better.
>
> I just measure transmission of the system (mostly losses in the fiber
> and filters) with the 10x lens and hope that the immersion lenses "are
> what they are".  However, this won't show up a smear on the tube lens
> that only obscures high-NA rays. I use the focusing ability of the
> Bertrand lens (phase lens) to look for this by focusing up and down
> through the optical column.  Amazing how much dust etc. you can see
> this way!!.
>
>
John Oreopoulos John Oreopoulos
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Confusion about the equation for numerical perture

In reply to this post by Mark Cannell
Search the CONFOCAL archive at http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal Hi, I'm a little confused about the traditional equation for a microscope's numerical aperture:

NA = n x sin(theta)

where theta is the maximum half angle subtended by the lens's light collection cone. It's the "n", the refractive index I'm confused about. I've now read several sources and books that say n is the refractive index of the medium that the sample is embedded in (above the coverslip), and in other places, I read that n is the refractive index of the immersion fluid, say oil (below the coverslip). I understand that in the ideal cases, both of these refractive indexes should be matched for the best possible imaging, but in reality they never really are, right? So which medium does the "n" refer too? And what about in the case for TIRF microscopy, where it is required that you have a oil immersion objective to image a sample in water for example? Which n should I use to calculate my objective NA?


John Oreopoulos, BSc,

PhD Candidate

University of Toronto

Institute For Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering

Centre For Studies in Molecular Imaging


Tel: W:416-946-5022



Jennifer Waters Jennifer Waters
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Re: Confusion about the equation for numerical perture

Search the CONFOCAL archive at http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
For NA, n = the refractive index of the media between the lens and coverslip (ie, immersion oil).  The refractive index of the specimen is used to calculate axial resolution.
 
Best, Jennifer

 
On 9/10/07, John Oreopoulos <[hidden email]> wrote:
Search the CONFOCAL archive at <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal" target="_blank"> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal
Hi, I'm a little confused about the traditional equation for a microscope's numerical aperture:

 
NA = n x sin(theta)

 
where theta is the maximum half angle subtended by the lens's light collection cone. It's the "n", the refractive index I'm confused about. I've now read several sources and books that say n is the refractive index of the medium that the sample is embedded in (above the coverslip), and in other places, I read that n is the refractive index of the immersion fluid, say oil (below the coverslip). I understand that in the ideal cases, both of these refractive indexes should be matched for the best possible imaging, but in reality they never really are, right? So which medium does the "n" refer too? And what about in the case for TIRF microscopy, where it is required that you have a oil immersion objective to image a sample in water for example? Which n should I use to calculate my objective NA?


John Oreopoulos, BSc,

PhD Candidate

University of Toronto

Institute For Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering

Centre For Studies in Molecular Imaging


Tel: W:416-946-5022



 



--
Jennifer Waters, Ph.D.
Director, Nikon Imaging Center at Harvard Medical School
Peng Xi-2 Peng Xi-2
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Re: Confusion about the equation for numerical perture

In reply to this post by John Oreopoulos
Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

Hi John,
    The perfect imaging plane for a typical objective is right after the
coverglass, and the coverglass is usually compensated through the
objective collar. So the refractive index n is referring to the
immersion fluid, which helps to "bend" the light for a higher NA.
 

--
Peng
Dantus Research Group
Department of Chemistry
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
Tel: (517) 355-9715 x319
Email: [hidden email]
http://www.msu.edu/~xipeng/


John Oreopoulos wrote:

> Search the CONFOCAL archive at
> http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal Hi, I'm a
> little confused about the traditional equation for a microscope's
> numerical aperture:
>
> NA = n x sin(theta)
>
> where theta is the maximum half angle subtended by the lens's light
> collection cone. It's the "n", the refractive index I'm confused
> about. I've now read several sources and books that say n is the
> refractive index of the medium that the sample is embedded in (above
> the coverslip), and in other places, I read that n is the refractive
> index of the immersion fluid, say oil (below the coverslip). I
> understand that in the ideal cases, both of these refractive indexes
> should be matched for the best possible imaging, but in reality they
> never really are, right? So which medium does the "n" refer too? And
> what about in the case for TIRF microscopy, where it is required that
> you have a oil immersion objective to image a sample in water for
> example? Which n should I use to calculate my objective NA?
>
>
> John Oreopoulos, BSc,
>
> PhD Candidate
>
> University of Toronto
>
> Institute For Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering
>
> Centre For Studies in Molecular Imaging
>
>
> Tel: W:416-946-5022
>
>
>
John Oreopoulos John Oreopoulos
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How to measure the actual numerical aperture of a microscope objective?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal Hello all again,

In my research, I am now faced with a situation where I need to obtain an actual measurement of the numerical aperture (NA) of an Olympus oil immersion objective. Can anyone tell me or point me to a reference that explains a simple method to determine the actual NA of a microscope objective? If the measurement is difficult and not simple (ie requiring sophisticated optical instruments and opto-mechanical apparatus), can someone tell me how reliable the number written on the barrel of the objective is or what it's actual uncertainty is? 
The NA written on my objective is 1.45. How accurate is this number?

Thanks in advance for any help!


John Oreopoulos, BSc,

PhD Candidate

University of Toronto

Institute For Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering

Centre For Studies in Molecular Imaging


Tel: W:416-946-5022



lechristophe lechristophe
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Re: How to measure the actual numerical aperture of a microscope objective?

Search the CONFOCAL archive at http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal I used to just get a not-too-bad PSF and measure the angle of the light cone in XZ view, that is directly related to the NA as in this method :

http://support.svi.nl/wiki/NaNumericalApertureExperimentalPsfBlurConeImpFaq

One can have surprises in the resulting number (I got around 1.15 from a 1.40 100X objective). However, one has to try to match RI of the mounting medium. By the way, the SVI wiki has many great advices about deconvolution and microscopy.

Christophe




John Oreopoulos a écrit :
Search the CONFOCAL archive at http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal Hello all again,

In my research, I am now faced with a situation where I need to obtain an actual measurement of the numerical aperture (NA) of an Olympus oil immersion objective. Can anyone tell me or point me to a reference that explains a simple method to determine the actual NA of a microscope objective? If the measurement is difficult and not simple (ie requiring sophisticated optical instruments and opto-mechanical apparatus), can someone tell me how reliable the number written on the barrel of the objective is or what it's actual uncertainty is? 
The NA written on my objective is 1.45. How accurate is this number?

Thanks in advance for any help!


John Oreopoulos, BSc,

PhD Candidate

University of Toronto

Institute For Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering

Centre For Studies in Molecular Imaging


Tel: W:416-946-5022



Guy Cox Guy Cox
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Re: How to measure the actual numerical aperture of a microscope objective?

In reply to this post by John Oreopoulos
Search the CONFOCAL archive at
http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal

In principle it's remarkably easy to measure the NA of an
objective.  We get students to do it with nothing more
sophisticated than an old microscope, a board marked
in degrees, and a piece of string.
 
The idea is that if you look through an objective using a
phase telescope, you are imaging the back focal plane
which is where the lens will form an image of an object
at infinity.  So if the lens has an unobstructed view (which
of course you have to arrange) you'll see an image of the
room around you.  
 
The edge of what you can see (it will be quite a fish-eye
view) is determined by the maximum acceptance angle
of the objective, and with a suitable target you can measure
this.  With your NA 1.45 lens it should be 73 degrees from
the optic axis (=straight ahead).
 
Remarkably unsophisticated - and surprisingly accurate.
 
                                                    Guy  
 
 
 
 
 


Optical Imaging Techniques in Cell Biology
by Guy Cox    CRC Press / Taylor & Francis
    http://www.guycox.com/optical.htm
______________________________________________
Associate Professor Guy Cox, MA, DPhil(Oxon)
Electron Microscope Unit, Madsen Building F09,
University of Sydney, NSW 2006
______________________________________________
Phone +61 2 9351 3176     Fax +61 2 9351 7682
Mobile 0413 281 861
______________________________________________
     http://www.guycox.net 

 

________________________________

From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of John Oreopoulos
Sent: Tuesday, 11 September 2007 6:29 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: How to measure the actual numerical aperture of a microscope objective?


Search the CONFOCAL archive at http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=confocal Hello all again,


In my research, I am now faced with a situation where I need to obtain an actual measurement of the numerical aperture (NA) of an Olympus oil immersion objective. Can anyone tell me or point me to a reference that explains a simple method to determine the actual NA of a microscope objective? If the measurement is difficult and not simple (ie requiring sophisticated optical instruments and opto-mechanical apparatus), can someone tell me how reliable the number written on the barrel of the objective is or what it's actual uncertainty is?
The NA written on my objective is 1.45. How accurate is this number?

Thanks in advance for any help!


John Oreopoulos, BSc,

PhD Candidate

University of Toronto

Institute For Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering

Centre For Studies in Molecular Imaging




Tel: W:416-946-5022




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