Leica Microscopes An Introduction

Three independent companies share the Leica brand – the Leica Camera AG, the Leica Geosystems AG, and the Leica Microsystems GmbH. These three, for more than a decade has remained to exist without any remaining legal, operative, or financial linkage.

The Leica Camera AG is at present, listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange holding more than 96% shares. Leica Geosystems AD on the other hand, is a Swiss company and is a part of the Swedish Hexagon Group. The Leica Microsystems however, is a German company owned by the US concern Danaher Corporation listed under the New York Stock Exchange.

Leica Microsystems is a leader as far as designing and producing innovative and high-tech precision optic systems meant to analyze microstructures are concerned. It is one of the leading brands in the market in each of the fields of the following fields – Microscopy, Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy, Microscope Software, Specimen Preparation and Medical Equipment.

Leica Microsystems manufactures a wide range of products for a number of different applications that needs microscopic imaging, measurement, and analysis. It also offers system solutions in the areas of Life Science such as biotechnology and medicine, as well as the science of raw materials and industrial quality assurance.

Leica Microsystems is known for its track records of making nonstop innovations – the Leica Microsystems Company has already contributed a lot to the technological history a lot of times with its pioneering developments. It goes back in the 19^th century as a family firm in Wetzlar, the designer and producer of high-tech precision optic systems.

Since then up to the present day, the company has remained true to its very principle that made Ernst Leitz I successful all through out the years – Working with the user, for the user – which meant close cooperation with the customers, participation in scientific developments and their implementation in upcoming technologies.

This philosophy led to the creation of outstanding products at Leitz (later renamed as Leica Microsystems) such as the first full binocular microscope, the first comparison microscope used for forensic applications, and the world’s first fluorescent microscope.

Known for its outstanding product development in high-tech optics, Leica Microsystems has now won the much respected German Business Innovation award (formerly known as the Innovation Award of German Industry) three times for milestones in optical development – in 1984 for the ESLAM acoustic microscope and in 2002 for the DUV objective photomask and wafer fabrication.

Not long enough, Leica Microsystems was given the Innovation Award again three years later in 2005 acknowledging Leica Microsystems’ product achievements – the high end fluorescent microscope (Leica TCS 4PI). The TCS 4PI allows three dimensional examination and imaging of structures and processes in living cells at a resolution down to 100 nanometers.