Nikon Instruments Inc., an innovator of advanced optical instruments, today announced an agreement with Agilent Technologies, the world’s premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical analysis, life sciences, electronics and communications, for distribution in the Americas of Agilent's MLC400monolithic laser combiner systems. The MLC400 will be integrated into laser systems designed for Nikon’s market leading Ti-E PFS "Perfect Focus" inverted research microscope.

The integration of this highly efficient, fast and stable laser technology with the world renowned Ti-E PFS – capable of multi-day live-cell imaging experiments – will allow researchers to maximize productivity and minimize system down time, of utmost importance when reaching for new levels of discovery. Incorporated into the Ti-E PFS system, under the control of NIS-Elements AR (Advanced Research), it can be run at camera frame rate or faster.

“The combination of Nikon’s superior imaging optics with Agilent’s expertise in precision optics and laser systems makes this a natural synergy,” said Stephen Ross, General Manager of Product and Marketing for Nikon Instruments, “We believe this agreement will provide our customers with both the imaging and laser capabilities they require for high-end research and experimentation.”

“We are excited about this agreement and the implementation of Agilent’s MLC400 on Nikon’s leading-edge microscopy platforms,” said Bill Volk, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Nano Positioning Metrology Division. “By eliminating arduous periodic laser alignments in the laboratory, the Agilent MLC400 coupled with Nikon’s industry-leading microscopes enables researchers to spend more time on their research and less time on maintenance.”

Agilent’s monolithic laser combiner technology will achieve very high optical efficiency on the microscopes by eliminating the need for multiple mechanical mounts on fixtures, as well as the number of exposed optical faces and air gaps. The MLC400 design is alignment free, and never requires maintenance or re-alignment.

The system has all components and power supplies integrated into one compact "plug and play" package.

Nikon and Agilent will initially begin integrating MLC400/Ti-E imaging systems for TIRF (Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence), Photobleaching/Photo-activation and Field Scanning Confocal systems.