DVM6 Digital Microscope

A digital microscope is a microscope without eyepieces. Instead of eyepieces, it has a digital camera that acquires live images which are visible on a monitor.

Digital microscopes are suitable for a wide range of technical applications. They are ideal instruments for fast and easy documentation of parts and samples during manufacturing, as well as assembly, quality control, and failure analysis of manufactured parts.

Digital microscopes are designed for rapid acquisition of high quality images in quality control, failure analysis, and documentation. These images must be calibrated, which means that measurement data taken from the image, such as dimensions, are correctly quantified and accurate. Suitable software makes sure that images can be analyzed easily. For example measurements can be made with the image, it can then be annotated and stored in a standard format for later use in reports, presentations, publications, or discussion with colleagues or customers.

The precise calibration data, such as dimensions in the x, y, and z directions, and crucial parameters, such as magnification and the corresponding scale bar, are recorded directly with each image. These features ensure that image analysis leads to accurate measurement and quantification data.

Yes. The Leica DVM6 offers a live image rate of 30 frames per second (fps) or even faster and a minimal image delay of 0.2 seconds. You can move the sample and observe the image just as you are used to from a traditional microscope with eyepieces.

No need to worry - the Leica DVM6 uses PlanApo-corrected objective lenses with high resolving power (related to the numerical aperture, NA, of the lens). This makes the Leica DVM6 perfectly suited to the tasks for which it is designed.

No. This is one of the biggest advantages of digital microscopes: You can immediately see the image on the monitor and quickly decide if it is good enough. The Leica DVM6 helps you even further by automatically defining the best settings and showing you 6 different options on the monitor. With one click you can choose the option that best suits your needs. For image analysis and measurements the Leica DVM6 has many software functions that make work easy for you. One example is that you can export the image with measurement data into a report template.

Using a digital microscope is easier than working with a traditional microscope. Inexperienced users in particular can obtain images of a sample easier and faster. The main reason is that it takes time to get used to setting up and adjusting the microscope, and viewing the sample via the eyepieces.

In principle, the image is the same. There may be a difference in the field of view depending on the type of digital camera and eyepieces in question – so it depends on which traditional microscope you are comparing.

However, there is one important difference: Sample observation via the binocular eyepieces of a stereo microscope gives you depth perception you cannot achieve directly with a 2D image of a digital microscope. To make up for this, the Leica LAS X software of the Leica DVM6 forms 3D topographic images of the sample via z-stacking as an alternative. Z-stacking records images in various focal planes over the height of a sample feature or the entire sample itself. The software then automatically calculates a 3D topography of sample surface structure.

No, the camera is built in and cannot be changed. 

• The 3 objectives for the Leica DVM6 will give you a total magnification range of 10x to 2,350x
• The sample stage has an X-Y range of 70 x 50 mm
• The stage can handle samples up to 2 kg in weight
• The microscope has a vertical working distance of up to 60 mm

It’s actually very easy. The Leica DVM6 has a large zoom range of 16:1 with one objective, but offers three different objectives to choose from for your application. If you realize a different magnification is needed, you can just “hot-swap” the objective during active use. 

The Leica DVM6 digital microscope is truly an “out-of-the-box” and “plug-and-play” device. You can start recording images after these five simple steps:

• Take the microscope and accompanying computer out of their boxes and packaging
• Plug in the Leica DVM6 power supply
• Connect the microscope and the computer with a USB cable
• Put an objective lens in place
• Start the Leica LAS X software

You can easily and quickly recall encoded parameters and settings, which is especially valuable for repetitive tasks where reliable image analysis and reproducibility for efficient workflow are important. 

A microscope is “encoded” when its hardware is in direct communication with computer software and when specific parameter values are tracked and saved with the image data. These specific parameters are defined and therefore referred to as encoded parameter values. For the Leica DVM6, the encoded parameters include the objective, camera, and illumination settings, the sample stage position and rotation angle (both manual and motorized movement!). 

The Leica DVM6 is not ideally suited to image biological samples due to its integrated intense illumination. This illumination can significantly heat imaged biological samples, which are often sensitive to temperature changes, and cause them to be dramatically altered or damaged.

The Leica DVM6 is designed for the quick acquisition of high quality images for inspection and analysis purposes in quality control or assurance (QC/QA), failure analysis (FA), or research and development (R&D). Most samples are typically solid-state materials, normally made from metallic alloys, ceramics, minerals, or polymers. They may range from smaller, more delicate samples, such as solar cells, to larger, more robust samples, such as wafers or product parts and components. If you would like to know whether the Leica DVM6 can meet your specific application needs, please contact us. Our team of Application Specialists will answer your questions.

You can work faster, because the critical steps in the standard workflow for parts failure analysis, inspection, or quality control are streamlined. After coarse-positioning a sample manually, you can fine-position it with a click of the mouse. This way, finding a point of interest is easy and fast. The large zoom range of 16:1 helps you to investigate the sample in more detail quickly and conveniently. When you tilt the microscope head and rotate the sample stage, the sample stays in focus and in the field of view as well as remaining aligned to the optical axis. Additionally, the Leica LAS X software helps speed up processes. If you want to obtain a topographic image of the sample surface, this can be done via the z-stack function with a single click.