Aligning The Raman Module - PerkinElmer RamanMicro 300 Series Getting Started Manual

64 . RamanMicro 300 Getting Started Guide

Aligning the Raman Module

There are three levels of optical alignment in the Raman module:
(i) Alignment of the laser path;
(ii) Alignment of the video camera;
(iii) Alignment of the Raman coupler;
Level (ii) and level (iii) may be carried out without removing any instrument paneling. Level
(i) requires removal of instrument paneling and must only be carried out by an appropriately
trained PerkinElmer Service Engineer, and in a Class 3B environment.
Aligning the Video Camera
The crosshairs displayed on the Alignment Camera window in the Spectrum software
represent the position of the laser. If the microscope is knocked this crosshair may not
correspond to the true position of the laser. Minor corrections of the crosshair position can be
made in the software. If the laser spot is very far from the crosshair a complete realignment
of the video camera is required:
1. Select the 50x objective lens on the microscope.
2. Select the Dark Field (DF) switch position on the Olympus illuminator module.
3. Place a flat sample on a microscope slide.
We recommend that you purchase the sCAL Raman Calibration Standard (L1321843) for
this alignment procedure.
We recommend that you do not use a colored polymer sample.
4. In the Spectrum software, select Instrument from the Setup menu or click
The Scan and Instrument Setup dialog is displayed.
5. On the Hardware tab select Microscope 50x from the Beam path drop-down list.
6. On the Instrument page, reduce the laser power to approximately 5–10%.
7. Click Video Preview.
The Alignment Camera window opens.
8. Click Spectral Preview.
9. Set the Preview Scan time to 10 s.
The laser should be observable as a definite circle in the Alignment Camera window.
After 10 s the laser spot will disappear temporarily, but it will appear again after
approximately 0.5 s. This is normal.
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