Leica Microsystems: Leica Science Lab

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!

Macroscale to Nanoscale Pore Analysis of Shale and Carbonate Rocks

Physical porosity in rocks, like shale and carbonate, has a large effect on the their storage capacity. The pore geometries also affect their permeability. Imaging the visible pore space provides…

Porous Ceramics - Sample Preparation for SEM

Application Note for Leica EM RES102 - Ceramic membrane filters with pore sizes down to a few nanometres must be investigated in cross-section with regard to the structure of the pores. The smallest…

Paper Samples - Sample Preparation for SEM

Application Note for Leica EM RES102 - A coated paper sample has been prepared with ion beam slope cutting in order to test the procedure with regard to its applicability. With the use of ion beam…

Bacteria Protocol - Critical Point Drying of E. coli for SEM

Application Note for Leica EM CPD300 - Critical point drying of E. coli with subsequent platinum / palladium coating and SEM analysis. Sample was inserted into a filter disc (Pore size: 16 - 40 μm)…

Ion Beam Polishing of Sample Surfaces - Sample Preparation for SEM

Application Note for Leica EM RES102 - Ion milling can be used to reduce the roughness of sample surfaces. Small angles less than 6° with respect to the sample surface are necessary. The high voltage…

Human Blood Cells Protocol

Application Note for Leica EM CPD300 - Life Science Research. Species: Human (Homo sapiens) Critical point drying of human blood with subsequent platinum / palladium coating and SEM analysis.

Improvement of Metallic Thin Films for HR-SEM by Using DC Magnetron Sputter Coater

Preparation techniques, like several kinds of coating methods play an important role for high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM). Nonconductive sample like biological and synthetic…

Brief Introduction to Freeze Fracture and Etching

Freeze fracture describes the technique of breaking a frozen specimen to reveal internal structures. Freeze etching is the sublimation of surface ice under vacuum to reveal details of the fractured…

Brief Introduction to Coating Technology for Electron Microscopy

Coating of samples is required in the field of electron microscopy to enable or improve the imaging of samples. Creating a conductive layer of metal on the sample inhibits charging, reduces thermal…