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The alpha300 apyron is the top of the line Raman imaging system in WITec’s microscope series. It combines ease-of-use and ultimate capability by automating hardware control and offering pre-configured measurement routines. This streamlines the experimental workflow and yields reproducible results with unrivaled speed, sensitivity and resolution. With the release of a new generation of alpha300 apyron microscopes, WITec now takes Raman imaging automation to the next level.
This short video provides an introduction to the alpha300 apyron’s superior performance and extensive automation.
If you would like to see its capabilities in greater detail, our product manager Dr. Thomas Dieing has recorded a comprehensive 30-minute demonstration video. Watch it here. (You’ll be asked to register to receive an access code.)
Since its first release in 2015, the alpha300 apyron has been WITec’s high-end fully-automated Raman microscope. WITec’s apyron systems are always equipped with the most recent features and developments, especially with respect to automation and user comfort.
In the alpha300 apyron, the entire workflow from system calibration through Raman measurements to data analysis is fully automated and can be completely remote-controlled. You never have to touch the microscope – except to change your sample.
The alpha300 apyron sets the benchmark for automated Raman imaging systems with unrivaled imaging qualities. It simultaneously offers the highest spectral and spatial resolution, measurement speed and signal sensitivity. All parts of the system are optimized for the highest transmission efficiency and precision. Additionally, the modular design ensures freedom in system configuration to fulfill the specific requirements of your applications, even as they evolve. A wide variety of excitation lasers, ultra-high throughput spectrometers (UHTS) and detector types are available.
True confocality and wavelength-optimized design
The extremely high performance and speed of the alpha300 apyron microscope is vividly demonstrated with the analysis of a tungsten diselenide (WSe2) flake. The flake’s different layers are visible in the white-light image (A) and can be characterized in more detail by Raman imaging. In only about 2 minutes, a clear and informative 75 x 75 µm² Raman image consisting of 10,000 spectra was recorded (B). The flake consists of single-layer (red), double-layer (green) and multi-layer (blue) areas. The same measurement after smoothing is shown in (C). A measurement of about 17 minutes consisted of more than 100,000 spectra and produced an even sharper image (D). The increased signal to noise ratio was achieved by reducing the pixel size from 750 nm (B) to 230 nm (D). The photoluminescence image (E) shows the same structures as the Raman image and even the grain boundary between the large and the smaller flake is visible. The integration time was 6 milliseconds per pixel in all measurements.
Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a suitable reference sample for determining the performance of a Raman spectrometer in terms of spectral resolution. The characteristic peak at 460 cm-1 should be clearly resolved into three peaks at room temperature. Due to its ultra-high optical throughput the alpha300 apyron allows for ultra-fast Raman imaging at high spatial resolution while simultaneously maintaining the ability to resolve this spectrum.
Raman image of a solution of L-cysteine in a mixture of water and different herbal oils. Most of the L-cysteine is dissolved in the water phase (blue). In the oil phase (yellow), an undissolved cysteine crystal (red) is visible. The green areas likely represent one of the herbal oil ingredients. The Raman spectrum of L-cysteine has characteristic peaks in the low-frequency range, which were clearly resolved by the alpha300 apyron equipped with the WITec RayShield coupler.
White-light image (left), AFM image (middle) and Raman image (right) of a portrait of C. V. Raman on a silicon chip. The image is part of a calibration standard for Raman microscopes, produced and provided courtesy of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig, Germany.
WITec’s fully automated alpha300 apyron Raman imaging system has received several innovation awards over the years.
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