Makers and developers might be interested in this new project which has been published by Instructables user “Venkes”, who has created a DIY laser scanning microscope using an Arduino Uno development board, a laser, and an LDR.
The laser microscope is capable of providing 1300x magnification and attaining a resolution of 65,536 pixels (256 x 256) in an area of .05 x .05mm. Check out the video below to learn more and see the results.
**A laser microscope works by shining a beam of light on a subject in an X-Y plane. The intensity of the reflected light is then detected by a photoresistor (or LDR) and recorded. When the various points of light are combined, you get an image
Venkes explain more about the inspiration behind the project:
Besides other things I’m very interested in lasers, the microscopic world, and to make things visible that aren’t visible with normal means. I also find it a sport to use things for purposes where they are not designed for (aren’t we all 😉 ). Combining the above I came up with a solution for an idea I have for ages: making a Laser Scanning Microscope (LSM)! Nothing fancy as a Fluorescent Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope, but a straight forward LSM.
At the same time I was wondered if it is possilble to use a DVD laser pick-up to make an LSM. Well, with some alterations, it is!
The reason I was thinking of a DVD pick-up is that it houses a laser and a lens capable of projecting a spot of visible laser light small enough to “see” a bit on a DVD. And those bits are very small (320nm)! Furthermore it houses coils to steere the lens (sideways and up and down) and a detection part. This steering is necessary to be able of following the microscopic narrow tracks on a CD or DVD while spinning (sideways moving of the lens) and follow height differences while spinning (up and douwn movement of the lens). You can imagine that folowing the track must be very precise considdering the turning speed and the bit size! These characteristics are exactly what we need!
Source: AB : Instructables
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