Science Lab

The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems offers scientific research and teaching material on the subjects of microscopy. The content is designed to support beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments. Explore interactive tutorials and application notes, discover the basics of microscopy as well as high-end technologies – become part of the Science Lab community and share your expertise!

Images of the same area of a processed wafer taken with standard (left) and oblique (right) brightfield illumination using a Leica compound microscope. The defect on the wafer surface is clearly more visible with oblique illumination.

Rapid Semiconductor Inspection with Microscope Contrast Methods

Semiconductor inspection for QC of materials like wafers can be challenging. Microscope solutions that offer several contrast methods enable fast and reliable defect detection and efficient workflows.

Preparation of an IC-chip cross section: grinding and polishing of the chip cross section.

Cross-section Analysis for Electronics Manufacturing

This article describes cross-section analysis for electronics concerning quality control and failure analysis of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and assemblies (PCBAs), integrated circuits (ICs), etc.

Image of a Siemens star, where the diameter of the 1st black line circle is 10 mm and the 2nd is 20 mm, taken via an eyepiece of a M205 A stereo microscope. The rectangles represent the field of view (FOV) of a Leica digital camera when installed with various C-mounts (red 0.32x, blue 0.5x, green 0.63x).

Understanding Clearly the Magnification of Microscopy

To help users better understand the magnification of microscopy and how to determine the useful range of magnification values for digital microscopes, this article provides helpful guidelines.

Stereo microscopes are often considered the workhorses of laboratories and production sites.

Key Factors to Consider When Selecting a Stereo Microscope

This article explains key factors that help users determine which stereo microscope solution can best meet their needs, depending on the application.

The Emspira 3 digital microscope offers what users need for comprehensive visual inspection, including comparison, measurement, and documentation sharing.

Digital Inspection Microscope for Industrial Applications

Factors users should consider before choosing a digital inspection microscope for industrial applications, including quality control (QC), failure analysis (FA), and R&D, are described in this…

Inspection microscope image of a printed circuit board (PCB) taken with a ring light (RL) and near vertical illumination (NVI).

Microscope Illumination for Industrial Applications

Inspection microscope users can obtain information from this article which helps them choose the optimal microscope illumination or lighting system for inspection of parts or components.

How Industrial Applications Benefit from Fluorescence Microscopy

Watch this free webinar to know more about what you can do with fluorescence microscopy for industrial applications. We will cover a wide range of investigations where fluorescence contrast offers new…

Visual inspection of a PCBA with the Ivesta 3 Greenough stereo microscope.

How to Select the Right Solution for Visual Inspection

This article helps users with the decision-making process when selecting a microscope as a solution for routine visual inspection. Important factors that should be considered are described.

How to Use a Digital Microscope to Streamline Inspection Processes

Watch this webinar for inspiration and expert advice on how to make quality control simpler, quicker, and easier. Learn how to perform comprehensive visual inspection, including comparison,…