Figure 6-4. Components of a fluorescent microscope.
a. Light System.
(1) Light reflector. Concave mirror located behind the light source which
redirects lost energy (light) back into system.
(2)
Light source. Mercury vapor lamp.
(3)
Collecting lenses. Concentrates light from light source into a single
beam.
b. Filter System.
(1) Heat-absorbing filter. Removes excess heat from exciting light that may
damage the system.
(2) Exciter filter (primary filter). Transmits only the effective or exciter light
and suppresses all other energy from light source emission which are not required for
specimen fluorescence.
(3) Dichroic mirror. Part of incident microscope only. Allows passage of
light of selected wavelengths in one direction through the mirror but not in the opposite
direction (Figure 6-5).
(4) Barrier filter (secondary filter). Transmits only the emitted fluorescent
light from the specimen and suppresses all other energy.
MD0838
6-5
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