Witec has revealed that its True Surface Microscopy mode has been awarded the Pittcon 2011 Editors' Gold Award at the conference and technical exhibition.
True Surface Microscopy was selected due to its ability to simplify the Raman imaging on large, rough or inclined samples.
Witec's True Surface Microscopy mode allows confocal Raman imaging guided by surface topography.
True Surface Microscopy follows the surface topography with high precision, so that even rough or inclined samples always stay in focus while performing confocal Raman imaging.
To achieve this capability, the Witec Alpha500 series integrates a precise sensor for optical profilometry.
The topographic co-ordinates from the profilometer measurement are used to follow the sample surface in confocal Raman imaging mode.
The result is an image revealing optical or chemical properties at the surface of the sample, even if this surface is rough or heavily inclined.
On such surfaces, this information was only partially accessible thus far, and with the new imaging mode, samples that had previously required extensive preparation in order to obtain a certain surface flatness can now be automatically characterised as they are.
