Speed, great colours and beautiful gobos have always been our top priorities. Our SilverScan celebrates 25 years of ROBE lighting fixtures and their continuing evolution.Read More...

Darkfield microscopy is a technique to increase contrast in your image when the refractive index of your sample very closely matches the refractive index of your imaging media. The technique works by blocking the light that comes directly onto the sample, and instead relies solely on stray rays of light to illuminate the sample from the image border.

The sleek design incorporates a Patent Pending handle for fast stage-floor deployment and a low profile bracket option which is available for horizontal mounting onto a low ceiling.

The QVGA Robe touch screen display gives full access to all fixture setup and diagnostic functions and is very intuitive to navigate.

Brightfield microscopy is one of the most basic light microscopy techniques whereby the sample is illuminated by white light that is transmitted through the sample onto the detector. There are different methods available to increase contrast in brightfield images (phase contrast, DIC, Polarized Light and Darkfield) which are available on different systems.

Darkfieldmicroscope

Polarized light microscopy is a contrast enhancing technique that improves resultant images where the sample being imaged has birefringent properties. This technique is often used for materials science, however can be very useful for some biological applications.

Epi-illumination

Creative director and lighting designer Koert Vermeulen wanted to do something extra special to celebrate 25 years of his innovative Belgian-based creative design practice ACTLD, so he and his team crafted a fluid and mesmeric large scale spectacle of lighting art – A2C5T – which was presented to the public for three weeks at the See U event space in Brussels.

The DataSwatch™ inbuilt virtual colour library for Robe LED fixtures provides consistent colour rendering with commonly matched filter ranges, allowing for rapid and accurate programming.

Normal white light is unpolarized, however optical elements can filter only one specific polarization as per the image below.

Bright fieldmicroscopy

The 350W white LED light engine, producing over 11000 lumens, gives an extra punchy beam with even flat field and an incredible 20.000 hours of operation.

Example of a darkfield light path below the sample plane, where only stray rays of light are collected into the rear of the objective.

In a polarized light microscope a polarizing filter is added immediately after the brightfield light source and an additional polarizing filter is fitted above the sample before the eyepieces or image capture device. The polarizer below the sample is usually adjustable by rotation to select for different polarization angles. See the light path diagram below.

The General Device Type Format creates a unified definition for exchange of data for the operation of intelligent luminaries, such as moving lights. The file format is human readable and developed using open source formats.

With super-fast, accurate mirror movement using our new Patent Pending positioning system, the bright and colourful SilverScan packs all the latest technology into a good-looking, compact, LED-based, classic lighting performer.

Bright field

In the images below, the fibers do not appear to have a lot of contrast (a), however when illuminated by darkfield microscopy (b) much more contrast is apparent. In some circumstances you have too much contrast (c) when using conventional brightfield, this can also be improved when using darkfield (d) where less contrast is achieved.

Robe rocked one of its busiest and most dynamic LDI (Lighting Design International) expos to date in Las Vegas, winning two awards, one for Best Creative Use of Light and the other for the T1 product series.

A cut-away of the light path of a phase contrast upright microscope. The condenser annulus is visible below the condenser which only allows through one phase of light. Above the sample plane the phase plate (or sometimes called phase ring) blocks one specific phase of light, and lets through any light that has been refracted by the sample.

Köhlerillumination

Ensuring the condenser is in the right position is vital for all of these techniques. To perform the correct alignment on the condenser requires a technique called Kohler Illumination, which examples and further explanations can be found here.

Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) microscopy is a method used to enhance the contrast of transmitted light images by using polarization of light. By the introduction of two Nomarski prisms (one above and one below your sample), light is sheered into two discrete polarizations which interfere with one-another at the sample plane.

Optical microscope magnification

With super-fast, accurate mirror movement using our new Patent Pending positioning system, the bright and colourful SilverScan packs all the latest technology into a good-looking, compact, LED-based, classic lighting performer.The 350W white LED light engine, producing over 11000 lumens, gives an extra punchy beam with even flat field and an incredible 20.000 hours of operation.Smooth colour transitions and fixed vivid, radiant colours can be applied from the CMY mixing system and colour wheel, with 7 rotating or 9 static gobos included for projections or mid-air effects. The smooth zoom can go out to 27° at its widest whilst the minimum 9° zoom, produces a piercing beam that can be further trimmed using the ultra-fast stepless iris.The sleek design incorporates a Patent Pending handle for fast stage-floor deployment and a low profile bracket option which is available for horizontal mounting onto a low ceiling.

There is no need to be stuck with frosts supplied with the fixture! Robe’s MagFrost™ magnetic paddle system provides you with quickly exchangeable frosts, enabling you to select those most suitable for your production. 0.5°, 1°, 3.5°, 5°, 10°, 20° and 30° frosts are available.

Light path of a polarized light microscope. Note the polarizing filter below the sample and the analyser above the sample which allow discrete polarizations through.

Robe Lighting France delivered its first Robe Awards event, a new design / programming / operating competition which saw 10 finalists – whittled down from over 160 initial entrants – to battle it out in person at Les Studios de la Montjoie in the La Plaine St Denis area near Paris … where they utilised a full Robe lighting rig.

Display: QVGA Robe touch screen with battery backup, gravitation sensor for auto screen positioning, operation memory service log with RTC, stand-alone operation with 3 editable programs (each up to 100 steps), built-in analyser for easy fault finding

DIC LightPath in an upright microscope. Here the two Nomarski prisms are visible above and below the sample stage. Note in this arrangement there is also a fixed polarizer and attached Quarter wavelength plate which allows you to rotate 90 degrees in the imaging plane.

Speed, great colours and beautiful gobos have always been our top priorities. Our SilverScan celebrates 25 years of ROBE lighting fixtures and their continuing evolution.

Phase contrast microscopy is a technique used to increase contrast within transparent samples such as cells or thin tissue sections. The technique works by using an annulus at the condenser to only allow certain phases of light though the condenser and onto the sample. At the rear of the objective there is a matching (but inverted) phase plate, which blocks light let through the condenser annulus. Light that is diffracted by the sample will no longer be in the same phase and will bypass the phase ring and be directed onto the camera or imaging device.

Smooth colour transitions and fixed vivid, radiant colours can be applied from the CMY mixing system and colour wheel, with 7 rotating or 9 static gobos included for projections or mid-air effects. The smooth zoom can go out to 27° at its widest whilst the minimum 9° zoom, produces a piercing beam that can be further trimmed using the ultra-fast stepless iris.

Robe played a major role in delivering another stunning lighting design for the Total Production International (TPi) Awards, produced by TPi Magazine, part of Mondiale Media, an annual event to honour some of the best creative and technical achievements in the world of live entertainment for the preceding 12 months.

Brightfield imaging or transmitted light microscopy usually has very low contrast between signal and background, therefore there are a number of techniques available which will be explained below.

As light passes through the sample where small changes in refractive index occur (eg the presence of cellular membranes) the two polarizations will be affected, and hence the interference will change, altering the resultant image.