OPTICAL MICROSCOPE

Nikon visible light microscope is now placed at the beamline user's hutch. It is available for users close to the benchtop instrument. Samples can be examined first with optical microscope to identify the region of interest to be studied with synchrotron based FTIR microspectroscopy. The microscope has the option to illuminate with light in the ranges 450-520nm and 550-600nm, as well as UV light for the fluorescence imaging. Moreover bright field and phase contrast imaging are also available. This is very important for biological and biomedical applications, especially in single cell and tissue analysis, prior the samples are brought to the beamline. Additionally visible light reflection imaging is very useful tool for material science, but also for archeological studies.

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Optical Microscope at MIRAS


STEREO MICROSCOPE

The beamline is equipped with a Stereomicroscope "Nikon SMZ445". The microscope allows magnification between 8x-35x with a zoom range of 0.8-3.5X (zoom ration 4.4:1). The working distance is 100mm and the eyepiece inclination is 45°. With the diascopic/ episcopic LED Stand, these microscopes let you observe a wide range of specimens, from Petri dishes to plants, insects, small animals and minerals.

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Stereo Microscope at MIRAS

FREEZE – DRYER (LYOPHILIZATOR)

In many cases dried samples are necessary for FTIR microspectroscopy. To avoid chemical changes in the samples by the chemical fixation method, the freeze-drying method could be applied.
Freeze-drying allows the direct sublimation of ice to the gas phase, by reducing the surrounding pressure, i.e. by using vacuum. Our home-made freeze-dryer allows sample preparation within two days at the MIRAS hutch.

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Freeze dry chamber at MIRAS


MICRO-COMPRESSION CELL

A diamond compression cell could be used for sample preparation for transmission studies. The cell uses two 13 mm diameter, IR-transparent diamond windows to sandwich a sample under moderate compression. This supports, flattens and thins the sample for analysis. In addition the cell enables measurements under moderate pressures.

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Micro-compression diamond cell at MIRAS


TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED MICROSCOPE STAGES

The Linkam temperature controlled sample stage FTIR600 allows infrared analysis of samples from -196 up to 600°C, at heating rates of up to 150°C/min and cooling rates of 100°C/min with a temperature stability of <0.1°C. The sample can be placed within a central gas tight chamber for atmospheric control. The stage can be used for samples in either transmission or reflection mode with the 15x objective.

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Temperature Controlled Microscope Stage at MIRAS

TENSILE STAGE

The beamline is equipped with a tensile (stretching) stage from Linkam (model TST350). The stage allows testing the tensile properties of your film or fiber samples relative to temperature and capturing high resolution infrared images of the structural changes. The possible tensile speed can be set from 1 to 1000μm/s, with a force resolution of 0.001N. The temperature can be controlled from –196°C up to 350°C with heating rates ranging from 0.01°C/min to 60°C/min. In addition, the sample is placed in a closed chamber for humidity and atmospheric control.

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Tensile stage at MIRAS

DIAMOND ANVIL CELLS (DAC) FOR HIGH PRESSURE

A diamond anvil cell for high pressure measurements is available at the beamline. The maximum pressure is up to 100 GPa. The diamonds are type IIac (nitrogen free, suitable for FTIR measurements). The culet size: 300μm. Fits with a working distance under the microscope of 28 mm, therefore, it matches well with the 15 x schwarzschild magnification objective.

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Diamond Anvil cell (DAC) at MIRAS