Stories & Features

Discover how to improve fluorescence imaging performance through smarter optical filter selection and system design. Explore real-world techniques for managing spectral shifts, reducing noise, minimizing autofluorescence, and enhancing image quality.
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For teams developing optical instruments, delays are not always caused by engineering challenges. Sometimes they're caused by not having the components needed to keep work moving forward. While a filter may represent only a small portion of an overall system, its availability can have an outsized impact on project progress. When a necessary optical filter is unavailable, work throughout the development process can slow down or stop entirely. That's where our Quick Ship filter program comes into play. Read more to find out how.
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IDEX Health & Science has partnered with Fudan University in Shanghai, China for the last 12 years for their FIST (Fudan Intensive Summer Teaching) program, which introduces college students to optics and their role in the life sciences. The course topic, entitled: “Application of Modern Microscopic Imaging Technology in the Research of Cell Biology,” has benefitted more than 600 students.
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Spectral flow cytometry requires filters covering the UV, visible, and NIR in discrete steps, which may lead to a desire to balance instrument cost and optical filter performance. IDEX Health & Science understands these needs, and we are proud to announce our latest Semrock bandpass optical filters: Nanopede™. These essential performance and cost-effective filters cover the near UV and visible spectrum in even and odd 20 nm Full-Width, Half-Max (FWHM) steps.
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Although it is possible to combine filters from different families, doing so may require trade-offs because each family is optimized with its own design assumptions and priorities. Depending on the application, mixed-family configurations can deliver acceptable results, or may benefit from additional evaluation to ensure optimal performance. Read this tech note to learn how.
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Inspiring the next generation of scientists, one photon at a time. We’re proud to highlight one of our Application Scientists, Elizabeth Bernhardt, PhD, who volunteered at the Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad (WESO) 2026 using Semrock optical filters from IDEX Health & Science for a hands-on learning activity,
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There is a natural tendency to over-specify. If a 1% tolerance is good, a 0.1% tolerance must be better, right? Not necessarily. For optical filters, "better" may mean increased cost without necessarily providing any benefit to your application requirements.
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However, innovation doesn’t keep office hours. Whether you’re troubleshooting a system at midnight or optimizing a multi-channel experiment across different time zones, you need data-driven confidence to move your project forward. To bridge the gap between theoretical concepts and functional prototypes, we’ve introduced two major updates to SearchLight: a smarter Product Search and the Automatic System Calculator tool. Together, they act as a 24/7 resource, allowing you to model, search, and optimize optical systems the moment inspiration strikes.
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The Ecosystem Trap: The Danger of Vendor Mixing. In a high-performance optical system, filters don’t work in isolation—they work as a part of a team. If your excitation and emission filters aren’t compatible, your signal will be drowned out by noise. One of the most common mistakes we see is vendor mixing: buying a Semrock optical filter from IDEX Health & Science for its reputation and then sourcing the partner filter from a lower-cost vendor to save on the bottom line. Individually, both might pass inspection, but you’re risking optimal performance in your system.
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A common misconception in optical system design is that a perfect drawing guarantees a perfect result. If you provide precise transmission and OD blocking, any high-end vendor should be able to deliver a part that just works. However, at IDEX Health & Science, we’ve seen that an optical filter can meet every single spec on a piece of paper and still cause technical issues once installed. This is the hidden cost of build-to-print sourcing: when you order a part that is technically correct but not optimal because the system logic was flawed. Read Part 1 of our Semrock Advantage Series.
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