Compact lens-free microscope
At the SPIE Photonics West trade show this week, the Belgian research institute Imec demonstrated a microscope with no lenses and micrometer resolution. Unlike conventional optical microscopes, lens-free digital microscopes do not need costly lenses, which also makes them much more compact.
At the SPIE Photonics West trade show this week, the Belgian research institute Imec demonstrated a microscope with no lenses and micrometer resolution. Unlike conventional optical microscopes, lens-free digital microscopes do not need costly lenses, which also makes them much more compact.
In a lens-free digital microscope, images are captured directly by a CMOS image sensor and then reconstructed digitally by software. The new lens-free microscope developed by Imec has a resolution in the micrometer range, comparable to that of conventional optical microscopes. However, it is much smaller and less expensive than its optical counterpart.
The Imec lens-free microscope is available as a complete ready-to-use kit, including a light source, image sensor, control and readout electronics, and a software interface. This allows interested parties to adapt the hardware and software to their own needs and applications.
In a lens-free digital microscope, images are captured directly by a CMOS image sensor and then reconstructed digitally by software. The new lens-free microscope developed by Imec has a resolution in the micrometer range, comparable to that of conventional optical microscopes. However, it is much smaller and less expensive than its optical counterpart.
The Imec lens-free microscope is available as a complete ready-to-use kit, including a light source, image sensor, control and readout electronics, and a software interface. This allows interested parties to adapt the hardware and software to their own needs and applications.
