Olympus Epi Illuminator Microscope Reflected Light Beam Splitter f=180 BF DF

Olympus Epi Illuminator Microscope Reflected Light Beam Splitter f=180 BF DF

This Olympus epi-illuminator is a reflected light (episcopic) microscope attachment that incorporates a beam splitter to direct incident illumination down through the objective onto an opaque specimen. It mounts between the microscope body and the binocular observation head, and accepts a lamp housing on its side port. The front face is marked "∞ f=180" — indicating compatibility with Olympus's infinity-corrected 180mm tube length optical system — and features a "PULL B.F." toggle that switches between brightfield and darkfield illumination modes.

Specifications & What's Included

• Brand: Olympus (Made in Japan)
• Type: Epi-illuminator / incident reflected light attachment with internal beam splitter
• Optical system: Infinity-corrected (∞), f=180mm — compatible with Olympus UIS/UIS2 optics
• Illumination modes: Brightfield (BF) and Darkfield (DF), toggled via front-panel pull button
• Large circular base coupler for mounting to microscope body/stand
• Side illuminator tube with knurled/grooved barrel and focus adjustment knob for lamp housing attachment
• Two thumbscrew clamps on top for securing the binocular observation head
• Body: Black anodized aluminum construction
• Attachment only — no lamp housing or cables included

Applications

Epi-illuminators like this one are used in reflected light (incident light) microscopy, where the specimen is opaque and cannot be transilluminated from below. By directing light down through the objective itself — using the internal beam splitter — the illuminator allows examination of surfaces such as polished metal cross-sections, semiconductor wafers, ceramics, coatings, and circuit boards. This type of attachment is standard in metallurgical and materials science microscopy, as well as in industrial quality control inspection. The f=180mm infinity-corrected specification places this squarely in the Olympus BH2 and BX series family, which were and remain the dominant Olympus research and industrial upright microscope platforms. The pull-toggle BF/DF switching allows the operator to quickly alternate between standard reflected brightfield and darkfield contrast — useful for revealing surface topography, grain boundaries, and defects that are difficult to see under brightfield alone.