Thanks for the responses and the links
I was looking for a supplier in Australia; just to get some high quality specimen slides and coverglass on the way quickly. I made a small purchase online last night before reading your comments. I wasn't too far off-the-mark.
I ran into all the specifications and understood them to some extent: but I had little idea (apart from 0.17) about the #1 #1.5 #2 coverglass thickness designation until I read your responses. It has been an education
Coverglass
Standard thickness
No.0 ......... 0.08 - 0.12 mm
No.1 ......... 0.13 - 0.17 mm
No.1.5........ 0.16 - 0.19 mm
No.2 ......... 0.19 - 0.23 mm
No.3 ......... 0.28 - 0.32 mm
No.4 ......... 0.38 - 0.42 mm
No.5 ......... 0.50 - 0.60 mm
My
initial coverglass purchase:
http://www.proscitech.com.au/cataloguex ... COVERGLASS
http://www.proscitech.com.au/cataloguex ... p?page=g2#
Regarding slides.
In the BHT manual, Olympus recommend a slide thickness of 0.8mm to 1.5mm for their LB objectives. 0.8mm to 1.2mm for use with a dedicated Darkfield condenser and also for DIC.
At the moment, my interests are in Brightfield and Darkfield.
These are the slides: (I purchased the G300B...just one box)
http://www.proscitech.com.au/cataloguex ... ge=g1#g300
As a result of your responses, I am now better informed and have some understanding of the requirements based on application and equipment specifications.
Now, I will have a closer look at the MarienFeld and the Schott range.
MarienFeld distributors in Australia and New Zealand (I'm not certain if these links are current, wholesale or retail):
http://www.southerncrossscience.com.au/
http://www.grale.com.au/products/view/202
http://www.globalscience.co.nz/
The SCHOTT Nexterion® range (High performance grade) looks impressive also.
Most high power microscope objectives are designed for an optimal coverslip thickness of 0.17 mm. In the design of such lenses, the coverslip is included as the final part of the “imaging lens” contributing significantly to the image quality in bright field and fluorescence applications. Using thicker coverslip glass will introduce spherical aberration resulting in a loss of contrast and sharpness in the image. Unfortunately standard No.1½ (175 micron) coverslips have a very wide thickness tolerance range of plus-minus 15 to 20 microns. If the coverslip varies too much from the optimal thickness of 170 nm, it can cause an axial shift of the best focus, and significantly affect; spatial resolution (especially z-axis resolution) in confocal microscopes, contrast of both brightfield and fluorescent specimens, as well as reduced intensity in fluorescent imaging. Other problems with standard commercial coverslips include scratches and digs that create diffraction and stray light, as well as dirt and foreign particles that can directly affect image quality.
To address these issues SCHOTT offers high-performance "cleaned and inspected" Nexterion® coverslips. A special high performance thin borosilicate glass that has a guaranteed thickness variation of less than plus-minus five microns, was developed in collaboration with Carl Zeiss. Nexterion® coverslips made with this colorless borosilicate glass are available with, or without functionalised coatings.
*Note: My underline.
Where to buy SCHOTT Nexterion® in Australia? (possibly)
http://www.schott.com/australia/english/index.html ....A message to that address bounced me to this supplier:
http://www.inbio.com.au
Craig