Zero Pixel Shift Imaging Performance
Semrock has uniquely solved the problem of poor image registration.
Poor image registration, or "pixel shift," results when a filter in an imaging path (for example, the emitter or dichroic beamsplitter in a fluorescence microscope) with a non-zero wedge angle deviates the light rays so as to cause a shift of the image detected on a high resolution CCD camera. When two or more images of the same object acquired using different filter sets are overlaid (in order to simultaneously view fluorescence from multiple fluorophores), a non-zero filter wedge angle means that the images will not be registered to identical pixels on the CCD camera. Hence, images produced by different fluorophores cannot be accurately correlated or combined.
This schematic of a typical epi-fluorescence geometry (as in a standard microscope) shows how filter wedge causes pixel shift.
Composite images produced from conventional filter sets (left), typically having much greater than 1 pixel shift, are distorted, whereas "ZERO" pixel shift filter sets (right) yield precise multi-color images. (Simulation)
How does Semrock eliminate the problem of pixel shift?
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BrightLine® filter patented* technology is based on a single glass substrate coated by durable, hard coatings. BrightLine ZERO™ filter substrates are manufactured to a very high tolerance. |
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The conventional approach to high-performance fluorescence filters requires multiple substrates, typically bonded together with adhesive, resulting in significant wedge angle and therefore pixel shift. |
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