Grayfield Optical Inc - High Resolution Optical Microscopes

Optical Microscopes with Greater Resolution and More Depth of Field

Welcome to the World of Grayfield Optical Inc.

Introduction
After 20 years working for Hoechst in Germany, where he became the director of their research department, Kurt Olbrich became self-employed in 1972 specializing in material analysis. In 1973, he gained the title of "State Certified Expert throughout Germany for Duro and Thermoplasts as well as Plastic processing Equipment and methods", a title he maintained until recently when he decided to retire from that position and concentrate on developing microscopes.

Unsatisfied with the capabilities of existing light microscopes, he decided to investigate why the resolution, color contrast and depth of field is so limited. His research led to the discovery, in 1976, of a unique new way of building microscopes which no longer suffered many of the constraints of existing optical theory. He found that by using a different approach to optics and a new mathematical approach, he could build microscopes with a large "cylinder of sharpness" (depth of field) and a true resolution of 100nm, while maintaining full contour sharpness and true colors without the need for staining, oil immersion, etc. His Olbrich Lens System (OLS) is the basis of all his future optical systems.

The OLS technology has also been used to develop objectives for extreme image reduction, a quantum leap in the nano lithography of critical dimensions that can be used for compter wafer production.

Kurt Olbrich originally built his microscopes purely for use within his own "Institute for Interdisciplinary Basic Research" providing a service to some of the top companies in industry and research organisations in Germany and the world. Kurt Olbrich has earned an impeccable reputation due to his unsurpassed optical analysis methods which brought him many international research contracts.

In 2002, Kurt built the Ergonom 500 which was the first microscope he designed to be actively marketed.

Due to the high development and manufacturing costs of the Ergonom 500, which made it too expensive for many research labs, he decided to develop a new range of microscopes (Ergonom 400-5/6) designed to keep the manufacturing costs lower while making no compromises in quality or important features like ease of use, variable depth of field, variable color contrast and a purely optical resolution of 100nm (reflected light, sample height greater than 50nm) in true time.

Additionally, smaller microscopes with improved depth of field and resolution have been designed:
- The 3D Optical Macro-Microscope allows objects to be viewed with up to 30mm depth of field.
- The Portable Microscope provides you with a 25-100x microscope with up to 4mm depth of field which you can take on field with you.

Kurt Olbrich has teamed up with Grayfield Optical Inc. to introduce and market this remarkable optical technology to the world.