Immersion system, microscope and method for controlling an immersion system

Abstract

An immersion system for a microscope comprises a reservoir (202) for an immersion fluid, a pump system (204) for moving the immersion fluid to a target space (110) between a front lens (212) of an objective (104) of the microscope and a sample (214) to create an immersion drop (300, 302), a z-drive (216) for moving the objective (104) and / or the stage (106) along the z-direction, and an xy-drive (218) for moving the objective (104) and / or the stage (106) perpendicular to the z-direction.The immersion system (102) further comprises a control unit (224) for performing a droplet exchange process, which includes: a) controlling the z-drive (216) to increase the distance between the front lens (212) and the sample (214) to a first predefined distance (d1) in the Z direction; b) controlling the xy-drive (218) to position the front lens (212) at a predefined distance (d3) in the xy direction from a starting position; c) controlling the z-drive (216) to decrease the distance between the front lens (212) and the sample (214) to a second predefined distance (d2) in the z direction; d) controlling the pump system (204) to generate a new immersion droplet (302); and e) Control the xy drive (218) to reposition the front lens (212) to its initial position in the xy direction, thereby pushing an old immersion drop (300) away from its initial position.

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