Optical microscopy is of fundamental importance for the analysis of the quality and characteristics of materials, both in the manufacturing field, and in that of applied research. The analysis of a material with optical microscopy allows to study its structure and the presence of defects or irregularities and to trace the causes that may have led to their formation.

Technical features of the instruments

The microscopy laboratory of the Ceramic Centre is equipped with:

• stereomicroscope Leica MZ6 – reflected light system, with standard magnification range from 6.3 to 40x, which allows a three-dimensional imaging of the analysed material (particularly suited to the analysis of opaque specimens)
• metallographic microscope (Leica DMLM) – reflected light system, with standard magnification range from 50 to 200x, brightfield analysis.

The microscopes are connected to a camera, which allows the acquisition of images and their processing (image analysis), by a specific software.
Through the image analysis it is possible to measure the extent of characteristic details of the materials such as the grain and pore size, defects and inclusions in their microstructure, the thickness of glazes and coatings.

Contact person:
Eng. Barbara Mazzanti – e-mail mazzanti@centroceramico.it
Mobile: +39 347 9631182