The MicroPL Fluorescence Microscopy Upgrade for Edinburgh Instruments Spectrometers such as the FLS1000 or FS5 allows the study of spectral or time-resolved photoluminescence of samples in the microscopic scale.
An Edinburgh Instruments photoluminescence (PL) spectrometer is converted into a combined spectrometer and microscope system with this user-friendly upgrade.
Just like Edinburgh Instruments spectrometers, the PL microscope is fully configurable to meet your specific needs and can be upgraded with additional capability in the future.
It is also possible to couple your own microscope to the FLS1000 or FS5 for a custom MicroPL upgrade (please get in touch for models supported).
MicroPL is coupled to the spectrometer via liquid light guides or fibres. It is possible to excite the full field of view of the microscope’s objective (widefield excitation), or a specific point in the sample with a laser (point excitation).
Widefield Excitation
The spectrometer’s lamp and monochromator are used to select the wavelength of the light exciting the sample. Wavelength and bandwidth of the excitation light can be set in the software. This provides much more flexibility than traditional fluorescence microscopy and removes the need for excitation filters.
Widefield microscopy imaging setup and image of BPAE cells labelled with BODIPY, Texas Red and DAPI dyes, using FS5 Spectrofluorometer and MicroPL.
Point Excitation
Point excitation can be performed with either CW or pulsed lasers for spectral or lifetime PL measurements. MicroPL is compatible with Edinburgh Instruments EPL, HPL, and VPL diode lasers. A spot size of ~2 μm (source and objective dependent) is achievable, enabling to resolve PL spectra and lifetimes in the micrometer scale.
Both Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) and Multi-Channel Scaling (MCS) operating modes are compatible, covering a wide range of photoluminescence lifetimes, from a few ps up to seconds. Non-standard applications such as upconversion PL microscopy are possible with the appropriate choice of filters and laser coupling.
Point excitation micro-spectroscopy setup and TCSPC lifetime of a perovskite sample studied in an FLS1000 Spectrometer with MicroPL upgrade.
FLIM Microscopy Add-On
MicroPL can be configured with a computer-controlled XYZ stage for Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM). The FLIM add-on unlocks special features in the Fluoracle software (FluoracleMap) including control of the stage and advanced analysis options for maps, such as multi-component decay fitting algorithms. No additional software packages are required to obtain and analyse data.
The resulting maps can be represented according to intensity, average lifetime or single-component lifetime in each data point, amongst other options. Surface topography and 3D maps can be acquired, analysed and displayed in FluoracleMap.
The user can define the mapping area and distance between points, view live data to adjust measurement parameters and access a range of map analysis and display options.
