JPK Instruments provides a software package to make the display of light microscopy images together with atomic force microscopy images a seamless exercise. To generate a seamless overlay of both techniques, JPK developed a cutting-edge calibration method, called DirectOverlay, which uses the accuracy of the AFM closed-loop scanning system to enable a true display of absolute angles and length coordinates.
The calibrated optical image is transferred into the JPK SPM software, so that AFM scan regions can be selected within the optical image. Direct “in optical image” selection of AFM measurements (imaging, mapping and force spectroscopy) leads to more efficient experiments and reduces dramatically overview image scanning in AFM.