Microscopes

The challenge

Microscopy systems must meet increasingly complex requirements in modern life science research and education. Enabling high‑quality 3D cell imaging is critical for assessing cell‑to‑cell interactions in advanced biological studies. At the same time, systems must support a wide range of working distances to adapt to different stereo microscope configurations. Compact system designs are essential to ensure compatibility with diverse academic and laboratory environments.

In educational settings, automatic sight adjustment further enhances usability by allowing fast, repeatable adaptation to multiple users without manual reconfiguration.

Our solution

The EL‑7‑20 and EL‑12‑30 liquid lens families can be seamlessly embedded into stereo microscopes, enabling a wide range of working distances and supporting diverse microscope configurations. In scientific microscopes, they allow rapid focusing across multiple focal planes along the specimen’s vertical axis without mechanical movement, eliminating vibrations that can degrade image quality. 

With focus speeds below 10 milliseconds, liquid lenses significantly enhance time‑lapse imaging by enabling the acquisition of many high‑quality image slices. Their compact form factor allows flexible integration — inside the objective, behind it, or within the tube lens of scientific or stereo microscopes — while minimizing space requirements. In academic microscopes, liquid lenses integrated into the eyepieces enable automatic sight correction, ensuring fast and comfortable adjustment for multiple users. 

Why Optotune for microscopes

No vibration induced by focus change
Fast refocus in a few milliseconds
Precise control of large number of vertical slices
Compact size for real-estate saving
Flexible implementation of the liquid lens in the microscope

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Liquid lens integration in microscopes

TBD

Back Lens Configuration

When integrated close to the aperture stop, Optotune’s liquid lenses achieve optimal performance with large image circles, low f-numbers, and excellent resolution. To make this integration seamless, we collaborate with leading optics manufacturers worldwide to deliver a growing number of optimized designs.

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Related applications

Microscopes

Modern microplate readers require compact 3D imaging with flexible working distances. Embedded liquid lenses enable vibration-free, millisecond focusing, support multiple microscope setups, and allow automatic sight adjustment for multi-user environments.

Need help deciding?

Not sure if our products will fit your setup? Our team is here to answer your questions. Contact us and discover how we can support you.