PerkinElmer – Spotlight Aurora FTIR Microscope

Best imaging or optics

The new PerkinElmer Spotlight™ Aurora FTIR (Fourier-Transform Infrared) Microscope exemplifies innovation, precision, and versatility, setting a new benchmark for imaging and optics technology in the laboratory sector. Its integration of advanced optical and infrared microscopy systems, automation, and user-friendly design positions it uniquely to address complex analytical challenges across a diverse range of industries, including polymer sciences, battery research, and advanced materials analysis.

At the heart of Spotlight Aurora’s innovation lies its dual high-definition and widefield visible imaging systems. Equipped with dual 5-megapixel cameras, it delivers exceptionally clear imagery over areas as expansive as 75mm x 50mm, and detailed high-resolution visualization down to approximately 1-3 microns. Its innovative dynamic field correction and automatic depth tuning capabilities ensure exceptional image clarity even for samples with uneven topography or irregular shapes. This combination of precision and adaptability dramatically enhances users' ability to reliably locate, visualize, and analyze microscopic features.

Aurora’s IR microscopy optics represent another significant advancement. Employing a proprietary all-reflective, double Cassegrain optical system, it provides superior IR throughput and precision in both transmission and reflection modes. The reflective optical system avoids the limitations of conventional lenses, such as chromatic aberration and mid-IR absorption, making it ideal for detailed IR analysis at microscopic scales. Users can seamlessly switch between IR and visible imaging modes through mechanism-free dichroic mirrors, ensuring geometric image accuracy and effortless operation.

The microscope is equipped with advanced detector technology, including liquid nitrogen-cooled Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) detectors that deliver extremely high sensitivity. Such sensitivity enables detection of even trace-level chemical signatures, crucial for precise chemical analysis and identification. Motorized beam switching and automated parameter adjustments streamline workflow efficiency and reproducibility, ensuring consistent results across various analytical scenarios.

Another innovative feature of Spotlight Aurora is its integrated Micro-ATR (Attenuated Total Reflectance) accessory with a motorized drive and software-controlled pressure settings. The germanium ATR crystal, which can remain permanently mounted and automatically positioned, allows precise and convenient measurements on irregular and opaque samples, significantly broadening the microscope’s applicability. This automated functionality eliminates manual adjustments, enhancing ease of use, reproducibility, and efficiency.

The Spotlight Aurora is designed with future-proof flexibility in mind, supporting modular upgradeability. It can integrate seamlessly with PerkinElmer’s Spectrum Two or Spectrum 3 FTIR spectrometers, providing tailored IR microscopy solutions. Rapid scan capabilities, achieving up to approximately 100 scans per second with optional modules, allow users to perform kinetic microscopy applications, capturing dynamic chemical processes in real-time with unprecedented clarity and speed.

Automation and intuitive software workflows further elevate the Spotlight Aurora. Automatic sample loading and viewing, combined with autofocus, optimized illumination, and depth-tuned imaging, ensure exceptional usability and reliability. The microscope features digital joystick controls for precise and user-friendly stage movement, illumination, and focusing. Additionally, built-in chemometric algorithms facilitate rapid identification, verification, and quantification of contaminants, making the Spotlight Aurora an indispensable tool for laboratories involved in critical purity and contamination control analyses.

Environmental robustness is also integral to Spotlight Aurora’s design. Its optional quick-fit purge enclosure ensures optimal operation even in environments susceptible to airborne contaminants, enhancing accuracy in sensitive analyses such as microplastics characterization.

Spotlight Aurora represents a synthesis of optical innovation, advanced automation, and modular versatility. Its groundbreaking features in optical imaging quality, infrared spectroscopy sensitivity, and automation-driven workflow efficiency provide unparalleled advantages for laboratories striving for accuracy, speed, and adaptability. By fundamentally redefining standards in IR microscopy and optical imaging, Spotlight Aurora emerges as an outstanding candidate for the Labmate Awards for Excellence 2025 in the "Best Imaging or Optics" category.