Mirror lenses in light microscopy--theoretical considerations and practical implications

Various types of mirror lenses were developed some decades ago designed for several special tasks in microscopy. When compared with high-end glass lenses, mirror lenses lead to an extraordinary image quality because of their supraapochromatic color fidelity and their high planarity; the working distances are significantly longer, and in most cases, the depth of field and resolution are higher than in concurrent glass lenses. In this respect, the microscopic advantages of mirror lenses seem to be comparable with the advantages of mirror telescopes in astronomy; for in observations of celestial bodies, mirror telescopes lead to better results than refractors based on glass lenses. When mirror lenses are available in light microscopy, not only common illumination modes can be carried out in transmitted or incident light, but also new and specific axial illumination techniques can be utilized, which cannot be achieved with normal glass lenses. This axial illumination, called "luminance contrast," can be carried out in various modes, so that the resulting images can be compared with dark-field, phase or interference-contrast images. In all variants, especially, fine details within transparent specimens can be visible in maximized contrast and resolution, and blooming or haloing artifacts are significantly reduced or absent. These findings are based on theoretical consideration, and intensive practical tests carried out with several mirror lenses constructed in various optical designs. All in all, supramicroscopic image qualities could be expected if mirror lenses were produced based on the optimized manufacturing techniques available nowadays.