Is this microscope objective suitable with the high-res optics module?

I am reading these directions for the high res optics module: OpenFlexure Microscope - Assembly Instructions

I will plan to use this doublet: Thorlabs

And am thinking of purchasing this lens: AmScope PA40X-V300 Finite Plan Achromatic Biological Objective Lense w

But wanted to confirm that it satisfies the high res optics module criteria:

- Parfocal Length 45 mm

- Type (conjugate) Finite Conjugate

  • Tube length 160 mm (Designed for DIN standard microscope with 160 mm mechanical tube length)
  • Correction Plan

- 40x magnification

- Thread Type RMS

Thanks!

Basically yes.

The description says that it is plan corrected. The lens marking and description give the 160mm tube length, which also means that it is finite conjugate.

It does not give the parfocal distance, which unfortunately is common. However 45mm is by far the most common standard, and lenses with 35mm par-focal distance do usually have something tell-tale in the description (often they say ‘185’ somewhere), and would look shorter.

Great, thank you WilliamW!

You can certainly use the AmScope PA40X-V300 objective with the OpenFlexure Microscope. However, please note that its working distance is only 0.63 mm. In practice, this means that when examining specimens on a standard microscope slide, you may need to image through the coverslip side or even invert the slide to achieve proper focus and avoid contact between the objective and the specimen.

For greater flexibility and ease of use, I would recommend considering an objective with a longer working distance. Although they are typically more expensive, objectives designed for inverted microscopes often provide substantially higher working distances and are much better suited for thicker samples or applications where additional clearance is required.

Thanks @Ertan - it’s worth noting that a 40x objective is usually “coverslip corrected” for a specific thickness of glass, and this does matter: imaging a sample directly gives a lower quality image than imaging through the correct coverslip, using the objectives we typically buy (which are more or less the same spec as the AmScope one).

The link is to an objective specced for a standard 0.17mm coverglass, so that’s what you should image through. If you get a longer working distance one, it’s worth checking whether it’s designed to image through 1.5mm of glass, because if it’s intended to image only through air, your resolution will be significantly worse if you then image through a slide.

This matters more as you go to high NA (usually meaning 40x and above). Lower magnification objectives suffer less from spherical aberration.