Linkham Scientific Instruments

Specialists in temperature controlled microscopy, Linkam Scientific Instruments, announce the launch of their Optical DSC450 which enables simultaneous visualization of thermal processes for improved materials characterisation. The Optical DSC450 enables the user to measure glass transitions and melting behaviour of a wide range of substances whilst accurately controlling temperature from -196 °C to 450 °C. The atmosphere of the stage can also be purged with gas as required by the user. A new feature which will increase the characterisation capabilities of the DSC system is to combine it with imaging capability. The new LINK Digital Imaging module enables additional information to be obtained by correlating optical changes such as colour with temperature. The new TASC analysis tool takes this further. TASC (Thermal Analysis by Surface Characterisation) is a new image analysis capability which enables structural changes in samples to be tracked and quantified optically. It has the unique ability to measure local transition temperatures allowing different points on a sample to be identified. The new DSC system is great tool to use in research and quality control to measure quantitative values for glass transitions, melting peaks and sample purity and, when combined with TASC, even sample homogeneity.