Nikon’s proprietary stratum structure enables simultaneous mounting of two optical paths on one microscope to support various applications.
This structure allows double layer mounting of an epi-fluorescence illuminator and a barrier filter wheel, or a photoactivation unit developed for the first time for upright microscopes.

The microscope can be modified by switching the focusing stage and focusing nosepiece, enab a fixed-stage configuration with motorized focusing to meet the demands of experiments such as in vivo deep imaging utilizing multiphoton confocal microscopy.

Observation methods, such as brightfield, DIC, phase contrast and fluorescence can be designated individual buttons on the microscope body, enab changes to be made at the push of a button. This is particularly useful when the same sample is imaged using different observation methods.

High-precision Z-focus provides accurate height information required for use with confocal laser microscopes and supports automated Z-series acquisition. Individual coarse and fine focus knobs enhance ease of operation.

Employed for the first time in microscope objectives, this anti-reflective coating consists of nanometer-size particles. It is based on semiconductor manufacturing technology and is also used for Nikon camera lenses. The coating’s coarse structure and the arrangement of particles in a spongy construction with uniform spaces between them achieve extremely low refractive indices.

With remarkably high NA, greatly improved transmission in the long wavelength range thanks to Nikon proprietary Nano Crystal Coat, and chromatic aberration correction from 435 nm to 850 nm, these objectives are ideally suited not only for brightfield and DIC observations but also for fluorescent observations. These lenses allow bright and clear image acquisition at any wavelength for near-IR imaging and multi-color fluorescence imaging. Because bright images can be captured even with a weak excitation light, damage to specimens is minimized.

With a long working distance and high NA, these objectives provide excellent transmission in near IR wavelength range. The axial chromatic aberration of 40x and 60x objectives has been corrected to up to 850 nm, allowing high-resolution images of minute structures in thick specimens during IR-DIC observation. The 25xW MP and 100x objectives feature high NA and a long working distance. With chromatic aberration corrected in the IR region, these objectives are ideal for multiphoton excitation observation. In addition, by employing a mechanism to compensate for the changes in spherical aberration that occur at different temperatures and depths of observation points, clear images of areas deep within thick specimens can be captured.

The “fly-eye” lens is ideally suited to diascopic illumination optical systems. Uniform and bright illumination up to the viewfield periphery is provided at any magnification.

Nikon’s proprietary noise terminator mechanism is employed in the epi-fluorescence cube turret and filter cubes. The S/N ratio has been dramatically improved by thoroughly eliminating stray light in the filter cubes, allowing images of weak fluorescent signals to be captured with high contrast and brightness.

Images can be captured with Digital Sight cameras by simply pressing the image capture button located on the microscope base.

Most microscope controls can be operated with the easy-to-reach buttons on the front of the Ni-E. Operation buttons on the microscope’s sides are angled to allow intuitive touch-type operations during observation.

The DS-L3 stand-alone control unit allows Ni-E microscope functions, a Digital Sight camera and peripheral devices to be controlled using a mouse or a touch panel without a PC connection. An ergo controller with a similar operational feel as that of an actual microscope is also available.