ATLANTA - The new WITec True Surface Microscopy mode is the winner of the Pittcon 2011 Editor’s Gold Award for the most outstanding new product at the 2011 Pittcon conference and technical exhibition, which was held March 14-17, 2011, in Atlanta. The Editors Choice Awards are selected by a panel of more than 150 editors registered at Pittcon and honor the most significant and important technological advancement introduced at the exhibition. True Surface Microscopy was chosen due to its ability to simplify the Raman imaging process on large, rough or inclined samples.

WITec´s new True Surface Microscopy mode allows confocal Raman imaging guided by surface topography. True Surface Microscopy follows the surface topography with high precision, so that even rough or inclined samples always stay in focus while performing confocal Raman imaging. To achieve this unique capability, the WITec alpha500 series integrates a highly precise sensor for optical profilometry. The topographic coordinates from the profilometer measurement are used to perfectly follow the sample surface in confocal Raman imaging mode. The result is an image revealing optical or chemical properties at the surface of the sample, even if this surface is very rough or heavily inclined. On such surfaces, this information was only partially accessible thus far; and with the new imaging mode, samples that had previously required extensive preparation in order to obtain a certain surface flatness can now be effortlessly and automatically characterized as they are.