Troubleshooting
Special features of a|TopShape – Part 3
Do you know how the digital production of our TopShape can help optimize your TIRF illumination setup?
Microcopy setups can be tricky, especially for sophisticated imaging techniques like Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy for single molecule counting. While introducing a beam shaping component like our TopShape can help to create a more uniform illumination, proper alignment into the setup remains critical. Many components play together, and all of them have an impact on the final illumination result. This makes the alignment and troubleshooting time-consuming. Hence, any reliable information about the specific optical components in your setup is desperately needed but typically short in supply.
Here, the digital production at asphericon has become quite useful. By default, we log many parameters throughout the entire production process, from the settings of our production machines to the individual measurement data. And we do a 100% in-depth final inspection of our products, including our TopShape beam shaper. This information is key to our digital production approach, allowing us to continuously optimize our production and development process further. But it also turns out to be beneficial information if you troubleshoot.
When one of our customers was integrating a TopShape into his microscopy setup, he approached us complaining about the poor image quality. Thanks to our digital production, we could demonstrate that there was no issue with the TopShape, and by including the TopShape’s data into a simulation, we could help him to narrow down the potential suspects. This way, he received a more uniform illumination with the TopShape and at the same time could improve the optical performance of his microscopy setup in general.
If you want to enhance your TIRF illumination with a flat-top beam profile and are looking for a reliable component with a ton of measurement data in the background, we invite you to contact us. Our team is happy to answer your questions and support you if you need help with the illumination of your TIRF application.
