Material characterization with a simple laser scanning microscope

The design of a computer-controlled laser scanning microscope is described. It is capable of inspecting a 1 mm × 1 mm area in less than 1 s with an optical resolution of 2 µm. Three applications of the laser scanning microscope are presented: the observation of the ferroelectric-domain structure of sodium nitrite layers, the observation of the spatial distribution of the photocurrent in polycrystalline solar cells, and the observation of the lateral distribution of thermoelectric currents in a thermal IR detector for the determination of the thermal properties of its absorber foil. PACS: 0760P, 7240, 7780D.