Metrology & Instrumentation
Veeco 3D Confocal Microscopes for Metrology
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What Is Confocal Imaging?
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Confocal imaging originally was developed as an alternative to wide-field fluorescence microscopes, which bathed samples in light and recorded all the resulting fluorescence. Confocal microscopes utilize point illumination and block all but a pinhole of light back to the detector, eliminating out-of-focus data. This architecture gives confocal microscopy excellent resolution in the Z direction by excluding light from features above or below the object plane within the sample. However, since this small aperture excludes light from all other points in the object plane, confocal systems need to scan back and forth to acquire a full image. This thin planar focus technique of imaging essentially allows confocal microscopes to optically section a sample, making them particularly good at providing non-contact, high-resolution 3D information about a sample. |
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Types Of Confocal Microscopes
There are several general classes of confocal microscopes available on the market today, the most common of which are confocal laser scanning microscopes and spinning disc confocal microscopes. Each has particular advantages and limitations, with the biggest tradeoff being either optimized resolution or sensitivity for rapid image capture.
- Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopes utilize focused laser beams to scan samples’ surfaces point-by-point, electronically building a comprehensive three-dimensional image of the object in much the same way as is done with scanning electron microscopes. This method allows very precise control of excitation both by the control over laser beam and with the type of laser used. Primarily used in life sciences applications, this type of confocal technology provides both high image quality and greater flexibility for fluorescent studies
- Spinning Disc Confocal Microscopes utilize a disc with many pinholes arranged in a spiral to produce the focused image of the sample. Thus, such systems can collect data simultaneously from multiple points within the object plane as the disc is rapidly spun. A linear path is traced through the image, and a detector acquires data from each aperture to build a high-resolution 3D model composed of hundreds of these slices in mere seconds. Spinning disc confocal microscopes can achieve very fast image recording rates
Choose The Right Confocal Metrology Solution
Every application has different measurement requirements, different datasets to be examined to assess material properties and performance. The Veeco VCM Microscope is a white-light spinning disc confocal microscope that lets users vertically adjust the focal plane of the detector while providing wavelength flexibility allowing quantitative analysis of a wide material set including imaging through layers of transmissive media, such as environmental chamber windows, MEMS packaging, or even different layers of films, without damaging the sample or deconstructing the sample covering.
The VCM technology provides comprehensive metrology solutions for research and industrial applications that require fast, accurate, three-dimensional visualization and submicron resolution and precision, such as:
- Investigating the aspheric elements of microlens structures built via lithographic techniques or via injection molding
- Confirming internal and external profiles of fully manufactured microfluidics structures
- Profiling steady-state fluid surfaces in open microchannels
Whether using confocal microscopy, or Veeco’s other 3D optical solutions, Veeco has decades of experience in enhancing the strengths and effective application of these surface metrology technologies. Through collaboration with thousands of customers, we have advanced expertise in determining which surface metrology solution offers the researcher the right tool for a particular application or sample.
Supporting Your Research
As we have done with thousands of researchers in every field, Veeco is ready to help you pick the right tool to advance your research. You can:
- Contact us today to discuss your specific application requirements
- Arrange to send us samples, so we can run tests and see which of our industry-leading metrology solutions will work best for you