miCube component overview

For all components, the design file (STL) is given if the component is home-made. All the files can be downloaded in a single file here (STL) or here (STEP). Full technical drawings of all components can be found in the supplementary information of our manuscript. If you want more detailed technical information, please mail us! For commercial components, the associated site is provided for more detail.

Main cube

id	Title	Description	Image	Price
1	Glass plate insert	CNC milled - STL file Size: 96-wells plate holder, 127.8 mm x 85.5 mm		€500
2	XYZ stage	An ASI XY stage (requires 4 mounting holes spaced by 75 x 125 mm) with a Optophase piezo Z-insert		€15.000
3	Objective	Nikon TIRF 1.49NA HP SR objective		€17.500
4	Top Cover	CNC milled - STL file The Top Cover ensures correct height of the sample with respect to the parfocal distance of the objective (60 mm).		€500
5	miCube block	CNC milled - STL file cube, STL file door The cube is milled out of solid aluminium to minimize drift. Practically all components connect to the cube in the end.		€1.500
6	Neutral density filter	Thorlabs - NE60A-A		€65
7a	Dichroic mirror holder	Thorlabs - DFM1/M Magnetic hot-swappable dichroic mirror is placed inside.		€330
7b	Dichroic mirror	Chroma - ZT405/488/561rpc-UF2 or ZT405/488/561/640rpc-UF2		€500 to €550
8	TIRF filter	Chroma - ZET405/488/561m-TRF or ZET405/488/561/640m-TRF		€900 to €950
9	Connector for dichroic mirror and mirror	Thorlabs - C4W-CC		€45
10	45° elliptical mirror	Thorlabs - KCB1E/M and BBE1-E02 The fixed mirror ensures easy adjustment of position of the emission light on the camera by adjusting the two screws.		€270
11	Excitation path cover	3D printed - STL file Ensures darkness of the setup.		-
Subtotal:				€37.110

Excitation path

id	Title	Description	Image	Price
12	Spacer	Thorlabs - SM1L05		€10
13	Reflective collimator holder	3D printed - STL file Easy adjustment of height by tightening it to the mounting plate with two M6 screws.		-
14	Right-angle mounting plate	3D printed - STL file		-
15	Translation Stage	Thorlabs - PT1/M 25mm movement for aligning the excitation laser on the back-focal plane of the objective.		€260
16	TIRF lens	Thorlabs - AC254-200-A-ML TIRF lens to focus excitation light on back-focal plane of objective. 200mm focal length.		€90
17	Aperture	Thorlabs - SM1D12SZ		€70
18	Reflective collimator	Thorlabs - RC12APC-P01 A parabolic mirror in the collimator ensures a well-collimated beam simply by attaching the fibre to the collimator.		€880
-	Laserbox	Omicron - Lighthub 6 Custom laser combiner containing 4 lasers at 405 nm (60 mW), 488 nm (200 mW), 561 nm (500 mW), and 642 nm (2x 200 mW).		€55.000
Subtotal:				€56.310

Emission path

id	Title	Description	Image	Price
19	Camera	Andor - Zyla 4.2 PLUS sCMOS		€15.000
20	Camera mount	3D printed - STL file Camera mount specifically designed for the Andor Zyla 4.2 Plus sCMOS, along with the used tube lens in this setup.		-
21	Astigmatism block	3D printed - STL file An astigmatism holder containing an astigmatism lens can be placed on two positions.		-
22	Astigmatism lens	Thorlabs - LJ1516RM or LJ1144RM Astigmatism lens with 1000 or 500 cm focal distance for optional super-resolution astigmatism.		€110
23	Astigmatism lens holder	3D printed - STL file A single lens can be slot into place with a screw. A magnet can optionally be added at the bottom for a more solid placement in the block.		-
24	Astigmatism lens holder	3D printed - STL file A single lens can be slot into place with a screw. A magnet can optionally be added at the bottom for a more solid placement in the block.		-
25	Emission path cover	Thorlabs - SC600, cut to length Ensures darkness of the microscope.		€30
26	Connector for tube and filter block	3D printed - STL file		-
27	Emission filter	Chroma - ET525/50m or ET595/50m or ET700/75m		€325
28	Emission filter holder	3D printed - STL file A single lens can be slot into place with a screw. A magnet can optionally be added at the bottom for a more solid placement in the holder.		-
29	Tube lens holder	3D printed - STL file		-
30	Tube lens	Thorlabs - ITL200 200 mm focal length		€425
Subtotal:				€15.890
Total:				€109.310

Laser triggering

Id	Title	Description	Image	Price
-	DAQ	National Instruments - PCIe-6353 X Series Multifunction DAQ (32 AI, 48 DIO, 4AO), 1.25 MS/s single-channel sampling rate (781049-01)		€3.000 +
-	Connector Block (2x)	National Instruments - SCB-68A Noise Rejecting, Shielded I/O Connector block (782536-01)		€1.000
-	Cables	National Instruments - SH68F-68F-EPM Cable		€350

Accessories

id	Title	Description	Image	Price
-	Filter holder	3D printed - STL file Can hold up to 10 emission filters or astigmatism lenses. Has two holes at the bottom for easy placement with M6 screws.		-
-	XYZ cover with LED light	3D printed - STL files: Main lid, LED array top plate, LED array diffuser plate, Control box, Control box cover switch, indicator faceplate A single IKEA INREDA LED spot with the connector cut off is soldered to a 1/8 inch DC jack. The DC jack is connected to a circuit that controls the voltage of the spot using a potentiometer and a transistor. The schematic is depicted below (click to enlarge): L1, L2 and L3 resemble the IKEA LED array, L4 is an indicator light for the power switch. A 16V DC switch-mode power supply (SMPS) was used. As the INREDA spot normally runs on 12V DC, R2 is placed in series with the potentiometer to limit the maximum voltage coming from the transistor Q1. The LED array is connected via J2 to J1 on the Brightfield Control Box.		-
-	Top Cover alternative	CNC milled - STL file Alternative for the normal Top Cover (nr 4). Does only hold the Z-piezo, without the XY stage.		€500
-	Breadboard	Thorlabs - MB3060/M Aluminum breadboard, 300 x 600 mm. All components (except the laser box) are placed on this breadboard.		€240