Microscopy

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PI Worldwide

Silicon Photonics
Silicon Photonics
A precise, fast, and highly automated alignment of photonic elements and glass fibers is necessary in order to make the quality assurance and production of SiPH components and PICs economically viable. PI's tried and tested active alignment and routines are faster than conventional methods by up to two orders of magnitude.
- Technology of Active Alignment
  Technology of Active Alignment
  The development and manufacturing of photonic devices reminds us in many ways of the early years of the semiconductor industry in the mid-1980s. PI was a young company at the time and already deeply integrated into the production tools being deployed in early fabs around the world. But these tools were usually homemade by in-house or captive local systems integrators. The vast ecosystem of toolmakers that the industry enjoys today had yet to be born. The situation is similar in photonics today: the toolmaker ecosystem is just emerging. While the front-end manufacturing of photonic-enabled wafers can rely on the existing microlithography infrastructure, the industry for the back-end processes is just starting to develop. Some excellent tools and toolmakers have already emerged, and in-house test/assembly machine design remains an option for many silicon photonics device manufacturers.
- The Missing Link
  The Missing Link
  As an example of the fresh innovations emerging for photonics-device assembly, TEGEMA B.V. (NL), the multidisciplinary system integrator, has developed a modular machine platform for the automated assembly of optical components, in particular of photonically integrated circuits (PICs). The system, which works with submicron precision, can grow from tasks in research and development of PICs up to their series production thanks to its intelligent architecture.
- SiPh Wafer Probing
  SiPh Wafer Probing
  The integration of photonic structures or elements on a silicon chip presents, already at wafer level, a multitude of new challenges for the testing technology of these elements. In order to transmit the design of the structure, from the concept through its qualification up to series production, a very large amount of performance data of the respective element is required.
- Free Space Optical Communication
  Free Space Optical Communication
  Beam stabilizing systems are a core technology for realizing free space communication network. Interferences in beam steering, caused by vibrations, temperature fluctuations, etc., must be compensated. Piezo tip/tilt mirror systems from PI offer excellent specifications, are tested in space, and can be adapted to customer-specific requirements.
Microscopy
Microscopy
The resolution of light microscopes increases steadily and technologies such as atomic force microcopy or scanning transmission electron microscopy achieve resolutions up to the subatomic range. Therefore, the demands on positioning techniques of samples and optics are also increasing. PI offers both customized and standard solutions for this task.
- Configure your Microscope Stage
  Configure your Microscope Stage
  The precise and fast movement of the sample or the objective play a crucial role for achieving good results when working with light microscopes. The demands on stages and scanners are manifold. In addition to the position resolution, which directly correlates with the optical resolution of the microscope, velocity and dynamics are other elemental requirements for the motion system.
- Open Source Microscopy Projects
  Open Source Microscopy Projects
  Microscopy is one of the technologies that is constantly reinventing itself. The first microscopes from the early 17th century were very simple in design, but countless developments have steadily increased their performance.
- Electron Microscopy
  Electron Microscopy
  Applications for electron microscopy cover a broad spectrum from semiconductor inspection through materials research to molecular biology research. In conventional TEM as well as in the newer Cryo-TEM, which was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2017, the samples have to be nanopositioned with high precision in an XYZ coordinate and then tilted around one axis to produce a certain number of transmission images for image reconstruction.
- Atomic Force Microscopy
  Atomic Force Microscopy
  Atomic force microscopy supplies researchers and developers extremely high resolution topographical data from a large number of different minerals, polymers, mixtures, composite materials or biological tissue. This technology, developed in the 1980s, enables users to obtain subatomic resolved images of sample surfaces.
IVD In Vitro Diagnostics
IVD In Vitro Diagnostics
In in vitro analysis, the safety and speed of the sample examination are extremely important. Positioning solutions from PI play a crucial role here. With high dynamics, precision, and large travel ranges, they fulfill the key requirements in system development. And with a highly reliable functionality they make utilization in a 24/7 mode possible.
- Genome Sequencing
  Genome Sequencing
  Blue, brown, or green eyes? Which hair color? Which illnesses may affect us? Whose child am I? All of this information and much more is stored, or at least set, in our genes. In crime novels, but also in real life, genetic analysis is called upon for advice when it comes to finding an answer to the question, "Who did it?". The "genetic fingerprint" has become an often consulted and unmistakable evidence. Last but not least, genome analysis holds the key to groundbreaking discoveries for many health-related questions.
Surgical Robots
Surgical Robots
Progress in medical research, diagnostics, and therapy requires high-performance, precise motion and positioning systems. High positioning precision, compact dimensions, low energy consumption, speed, and absolute reliability are just some of the requirements for the drives. Thanks to its comprehensive portfolio, PI always has the right solution at hand.
- Endoscopy
  Endoscopy
  Modern medical technology focuses on developing therapies that cause as little discomfort to patients as possible. Endoscopes that allow minimally invasive surgery, make an important contribution to this, for example, in laparoscopy. Especially during medical interventions, the demand for focused and detailed image information is of the highest priority in order to achieve the best possible chances of success.
- Surgical Robots: Patient Couch for Radiotherapy
  Patient Couch for Radiotherapy
  In radiotherapy, it is particularly important to ensure that healthy tissues are protected. This is why, it is absolutely necessary to position the patient precisely during radiotherapy. Patient couches that employ hexapods from PI are very well suited for this task.
Astronomy
Astronomy
Motion and positioning systems with which mirror elements or subreflectors are moved, for example, are crucial factors for the functionality of large telescopes, probes, and experiments. PI has many years of experience, extensive know-how, and competencies in the development and production of suitable solutions.
- ALMA-Array
  ALMA-Array
  A spectacular, albeit essentially impossible image caused a worldwide sensation on April 10, 2019: The first ever "photograph" of a black hole. 55 million light years away at the center of the M87 galaxy. The unbelievably strong gravitational pull means that even light cannot escape. But, thanks to the Event Horizon Telescope - a combination of eight radio telescopes - the participating researchers outsmarted physics to a certain extent and for the first time, created an image of a black hole's shadow. This shadow is cast by the radiation from the distorted light while being irrevocably absorbed by the black hole.
Semiconductor
Semiconductor
For decades, no other product has shaped and changed our lives as much as the omnipresent microchips. Whether computers in all their variants, cell phones and smartphones, game consoles, cars and airplanes, yes, now even the home refrigerator, oven or iron and toaster – nothing works anymore without these jack-of-all-trades made of doped silicon. PI has played a large part in this success story.
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Microscopy, like no other technology, is constantly expanding our knowledge about what holds the world together at its core, about what the building blocks of life look like. In life sciences, materials research, geology, archeology, mineralogy... again and again, microscopes in the hands of brilliant researches provide the newest findings and so make innovations possible.

PI, as an "enabling partner", supports users and researches worldwide with ever more precise, faster, and reliable motion and positioning systems for samples and objectives. The spectrum ranges from standard microscopes through the most modern superresolution microscopes to atomic force, X-ray, and particle beam microscopes. In fact, many of these technologies were only realized thanks to powerful nanopositioning systems from PI.

It is our goal to push microscopy as a knowledge and innovation engine.

Configure your Microscope Stage

Configure your Microscope Stage

The precise and fast movement of the sample or the objective play a crucial role for achieving good results when working with light microscopes. The demands on stages and scanners are manifold.

Open Source Microscopy

Open Source Microscopy

Microscopy is one of the technologies that is constantly reinventing itself. The first microscopes from the early 17th century were very simple in design, but countless developments have steadily increased their performance.

Electron Microscopy

Electron Microscopy

Applications for electron microscopy cover a broad spectrum from semiconductor inspection through materials research to molecular biology research.

Atomic Force Microscopy

Atomic Force Microscopy

Atomic force microscopy supplies researchers and developers extremely high resolution topographical data from a large number of different minerals, polymers, mixtures, composite materials or biological tissue.

Do you have questions about our solutions? Our specialists are happy to help you!

Contact us today!