Leica Microsystems: Leica Science Lab

Science Lab

The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems offers scientific research and teaching material on the subjects of microscopy. The content is designed to support beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments. Explore interactive tutorials and application notes, discover the basics of microscopy as well as high-end technologies – become part of the Science Lab community and share your expertise!

Practical Applications of Broad Ion Beam Milling

Mechanical polishing can be time consuming and frustrating. It can also introduce unwanted artifacts when preparing cross-sectioned samples for electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) in the scanning…

Digital Microscopy in Earth Science

Classical polarized light (compound) microscopes can only be used for prepared samples, because the working distance they offer is insufficient for whole samples. This means that thicker and bigger…

Spherical aberration describes the fact that waves which pass through the centre of the lens are refracted less than the waves which pass through the edges of the curved lens.

Eyepieces, Objectives and Optical Aberrations

This article covers the components of the eyepieces and how to adjust them correctly to suit your eyes.

Multiphoton microscopy of an unstained mouse skin section acquired using the 4Tune detector.

Mission Impossible Accomplished: Tunable Colors for Non-descanning Detection

Leica Microsystems’ 4Tune detector, the key component of the SP8 DIVE Deep In Vivo Explorer, provides spectrally tunable image recording with non-descanning detection. An innovative solution for…

Koehler Illumination: A Brief History and a Practical Set Up in Five Easy Steps

In this article, we will look at the history of the technique of Koehler Illumination in addition to how to adjust the components in five easy steps.

Mammalian cell culure. Phase contrast and fluorescence image.

Introduction to Mammalian Cell Culture

Mammalian cell culture is one of the basic pillars of life sciences. Without the ability to grow cells in the lab, the fast progress in disciplines like cell biology, immunology, or cancer research…

Collecting Light: The Importance of Numerical Aperture in Microscopy

Numerical aperture (abbreviated as ‘NA’) is an important consideration when trying to distinguish detail in a specimen viewed down the microscope. NA is a number without units and is related to the…

„Confetti-Mouse“, taken with the 4Tune spectral detector of Leica’s Deep in-vivo Explorer SP8 DIVE.

Laser Beam Shaping for Multicolor Multiphoton Microscopy

Multiphoton Microscopy is one of the current hot topics in life science research. The new Leica TCS SP8 DIVE from Leica Microsystems presents a series of beneficial new innovations, including a freely…

Introduction to Widefield Microscopy

This article gives an introduction to widefield microscopy, one of the most basic and commonly used microscopy techniques. It also shows the basic differences between widefield and confocal…