SCHOTT KL Fibre Optic Ring Lights for Stereo Microscopy

High-quality fibre-optic ring illumination for brightfield, shadow-free and darkfield stereo microscopy applications.

Flexible Ring Illumination for Stereo Microscopy

SCHOTT KL fibre-optic ring lights provide controlled incident illumination around the microscope objective and are available in a range of diameters and illumination geometries.

Depending on the model selected, ring illumination can provide highly even brightfield lighting, compact illumination around small objectives or low-angle darkfield illumination for revealing surface defects and particles.

SCHOTT microscopy light guides use PURAVIS® glass optical fibres for high white-light transmission with low colour shift.

Mini Ring Light Ø40 mm – P/N 157.040

Compact fibre-optic ring light for applications requiring a smaller illumination diameter.

Inner diameter: Ø40 mm
Fibre length: Approx. 1000 mm
Compatible light sources: KL 300 LED, KL 1600 LED and KL 2500 LED

Standard Annular Ring Light Ø58 mm – P/N 157.410

Continuous annular fibre-optic illumination for even brightfield lighting around compatible stereo microscope objectives.

Inner diameter: Ø58 mm
Fibre length: Approx. 1000 mm

Standard Annular Ring Light Ø66 mm – P/N 157.420

Standard Ø66 mm annular ring light for highly even incident illumination around the objective.

Inner diameter: Ø66 mm
Fibre length: Approx. 1000 mm
Optional polarisation: SCHOTT P/N 158.430

Slim Annular Ring Light Ø66 mm – P/N 157.066

Slim-profile Ø66 mm annular ring light for applications where available space around the microscope objective is restricted.

Inner diameter: Ø66 mm
Fibre length: Approx. 1000 mm

Darkfield Fibre Optic Ring Light – P/N 157.406

Darkfield ring illumination directs light towards the specimen at a shallow angle rather than vertically from above.

This can make scratches, dust particles, edges and small surface features stand out strongly against a darker background.

Fibre length: Approx. 1000 mm
Important: A suitable SCHOTT darkfield extension tube is required.

Annular Ring Light Ø81 mm – P/N 157.081

Larger-diameter annular fibre-optic ring light for compatible high-performance stereo microscope objectives.

Inner diameter: Ø81 mm
Specified application: SHR PlanAPO 0.5X or 1X

Annular Ring Light Ø86 mm – P/N 157.086

Large-diameter annular ring illumination for the specified SHR PlanAPO objective configuration.

Inner diameter: Ø86 mm
Specified application: SHR PlanAPO 1.6X

Annular ring lights surround the optical axis with illumination, helping minimise directional shadows.

This makes them particularly useful for routine inspection, photography and specimens where even surface illumination is more important than strong directional contrast.

The continuous annular design offers more uniform illumination than a small number of individual illumination points.

Darkfield illumination introduces light at a shallow angle across the specimen surface.

Smooth areas may remain relatively dark while scratches, particles, edges and other features scatter light towards the microscope and become much easier to see.

SCHOTT P/N 157.406 requires a suitable extension tube selected according to the required working distance.

Available options include:

• 157.569 – 30–50 mm working distance
• 157.567 – 50–80 mm working distance
• 157.562 – 80–110 mm working distance

The standard Ø66 mm annular ring light P/N 157.420 can be combined with SCHOTT polarisation filter set P/N 158.430.

Polarised illumination can help reduce glare and reflections from shiny or reflective specimens, improving visibility of underlying surface detail.

These ring lights are passive fibre-optic components and require a compatible SCHOTT KL light source.

Compatibility varies between ring-light models, so please check the selected ring light and light source before ordering.

SCHOTT's KL system combines fibre-optic light sources with a wide selection of ring lights, directional light guides, line lights, focusing optics and mounting accessories.

Click the diagram below to explore the available system configurations.

Click the diagram to view full size.

In this SCHOTT microscopy video, see how to select an appropriate ring light according to the microscope, specimen and required illumination effect.

Auckland Scientific – Illumination Support

Ring-light performance depends on the microscope objective diameter, working distance, specimen surface and contrast you are trying to achieve.

Tell us your microscope model and application and we can help identify the most suitable brightfield, slim, mini or darkfield fibre-optic ring-light configuration.