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Visible Light Microscopy

Phase-Measurement Interference Microscope
ZYGO Corp. Maxim 3D Model 5700

Introduction

Basic operation instructions for the ZYGO Maxim 3D Laser Interferometric Microscope.

I. General rules.

  1. Do not attempt to turn off the power to the main HP 9000 computer.  If you think that the computer needs to be reset, have a system administrator do this for you.
  2. Keep in mind that the objective lenses cost about as much as a graduated student earns in a year at this university.  Please use common sense in operating the Zygo, so as to avoid damage to the objective lenses.

    In particular:
    1. Do not let anything come into contact with the lens surfaces.
    2. Do not attempt to clean or remove the objective lenses.  These tasks must only be carried out by the system administrators.
    3. Do not image samples under liquids exposed to open air.  Vapors will cause degradation of lens coatings.

II. Starting up the program.

  1. Power up the laser and controllers by turning on multiple outlet strip.
  2. Log in to the computer as follows:
    1. From the main, lavender-colored LOGIN window, use the mouse to position the cursor over the "No Windows" button and press the left mouse button.
    2. At the prompt login: enter zygo followed by the {return} key.
    3. At the prompt password: enter hrmc followed by the {return} key.
  3. After entering your password, wait approximately 1 minute as MetroPro is automatically loaded, and a small blue box entitled Maxim.app appears in the upper lefthand of the screen.

    "MetroPro" is the parent program controlling the Zygo.  Commands to MetroPro are interpreted by your personal application program, "Maxim.app."

    To run Maxim.app, click the lefthand mouse button with the cursor positioned over the blue "Maxim.app." box.

III. Operating the Microscope

Refer to the "Basic Operation" and "MetroPro Reference" (Chapters 5-6) of the operation manual for complete instructions on operation of the Zygo.

  1. Mount Sample on stage
  2. Select Objective lens - 10X (yellow ring) or 40X (light blue ring)
    • Do Not rotate the turret by holding the lenses.
    • Rotate the turret by the knurled black ring located at the base of the turret.
  3. Focus sample using joystick.
    Working distance for 10X lens ~ 4.0 mm
    Working distance for 40X lens ~ 4.5 mm
    Separation between 2 focal planes is ~ 86,000 on the Compumotor readout
  4. Maximize fringe contrast using knurled ring on lens body
  5. Null fringes by adjusting tilt and tip of laser with the large knobs on right side of laser
  6. Select the correct objective lens on the upper left menu on the computer screen
  7. Select "Measure" on the upper left menu on the computer screen
  8. To Print the results click the left mouse button on the word "Zygo"
  9. To Save the data click the left mouse button on the "Save Data" button, then type the name of the file and press "Return"

    10. Hardcopies:

    1. Turn on power to printer by touching the "Power" button on the righthand side of the top of the printer.
    2. To print the contents of any MetroPro window, select the "Print" option from that window's "Window Control" pop-up menu.

IV. Finishing your Work Session.

  1. Save data to hard disk according to instructions in the operation manual.
  2. Close your application window by clicking the lefthand mouse button with the cursor positioned in the small box with an "x" in it located to the left of the word "Zygo" in the upper lefthand corner of the screen.
  3. Quit MetroPro program.

    Hold down the righthand mouse button to pull down the MetroPro control window.
    Release mouse button with pointer positioned over the quit option.

    Do NOT use the "Shutdown" function !!
  4. When the "hp7: 20" prompt appears, logout by entering the command:
    exit
  5. Power down system by turning off multiple outlet strip.