Andor Technology has signed a global supply agreement with CoolLED to integrate the company’s PrecisExcite LED light source for fluorescence microscopy in its own range of microscopy systems.
LEDs have many advantages over conventional light sources. They produce an immediate and consistent light source over a narrow bandwidth, the brightness can be easily controlled, no warm up period is required, they are significantly more efficient, need no maintenance and use no consumables. In addition, they avoid the health and environmental hazards associated with mercury lamps and, as they operate from a low voltage supply, are inherently safe.
Cost of ownership is very low compared with mercury lamps. The PrecisExcite excitation system has a 'light-on' lifetime of over 10,000 hours whereas mercury lamps have a comparatively short life. In addition, the microscope may have to be recalibrated after the bulb has been changed so adding to the operating cost.
