A Different Take On A Laser Projection Microscope

[Dusjagr] has another take on building a laser projection microscope. Last year we saw a laser-based microscope that shined the beam of light through a water droplet which contained the subject to be magnified. The droplet bent the focused beam of light and projected the magnified contents onto a screen. Now that’s pretty neat and [Dusjagr] has used that method himself. But most traditional microscopes use glass slides to contain the subject and this new version now makes that possible.

A bit of experimentation led [Dusjagr] to the discovery that a lens re-purposed from a webcam can achieve similar focus results as a water droplet. The video after the break shows the apparatus seen above in action. The laser shines through the lens, then through a slide that contains a water sample from a nearby pond. The image is clear, albeit completely bathed in green.

For us the most interesting part of [Dusjagr’s] writeup is his discussion of the limits of laser amplification based on the wavelength of light the diode puts out.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/20472931 w=470]

12 thoughts on “A Different Take On A Laser Projection Microscope

  1. Bacteria and other um sized objects can be seen in a visible light microscope. After all, that’s what the common microscope is used for. Optics quality is usually the limiting factor.

  2. I still think someone needs to try this with a UV laser projected onto a glow in the dark surface.

    Since the UV laser will charge the phosphors it will act like a photographic plate. Long exposure laser microscopy. :)

    If someone tries this, be sure to kill the lights after a short exposure so you can see/photograph the image.

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