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Summary: IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE OPTICAL MICROSCOPE
VIA MODERN OPTO AND OPTOMECHANICAL DESIGN
Jason Sutin*, Shorya Awtar**, John Hart**, Alexander H. Slocum**, Enrico Gratton*
*Laboratory of Fluorescence Dynamics, Department of Physics
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
1110 West Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Email : jason@sutin.net
**Precision Engineering Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Key words: Microscope optics, optomechanics, flexures, kinematic couplings.
The trend in biological applications of optical microscopy has been towards greater precision
and more quantitative experiments, requiring greater stability from the microscope.
Furthermore, in many instances improvements in the interpretation of experiments are
possible if data from several complementary methods are acquired simultaneously, requiring
more flexibility in the configuration of the microscope. We are systematically improving the
microscope through an integrated optical and the mechanical design. Our goals are to
increase the resolution and sensitivity of experiments by improving rejection of external
mechanical disturbances and minimizing of drifting of the microscope itself, especially due to
thermal fluctuations. In addition, to make assembly of complicated experiments more
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