Polytec MSA-500 Micro System Analyzer is located in room 1302 Calit2 Building (building 325 on UCI campus map)

The Polytech MSA-500 Micro System Analyser (called the "Vibrometer") is a fully-integrated Structural Dynamics and Surface Metrology System. In simple terms, this instrument focuses one beam of laser light on a spot in the sample in order to accurately track the position and velocity of that point. The entire surface of the sample can be scanned, with unprecedented speed and resolution. The accompanying software collects and elaborates the information. Three main quantities can then be accurately measured:

• Surface topography (i.e. the z-coordinate of each point in a surface) with sub-nanometer resolution.
• In-plane deformation and vibration modes, with nanometer amplitude resolutions and at frequencies up to 1MHz.
• Out-of-plane deformation and vibration modes, with picometer amplitude resolutions and at frequencies up to 24MHz (extendable to 600MHz with an optional add-on (not included)).

These functionalities are achieved by incorporating three separate non-contact measurement technologies into one piece of equipment: (i) white-light interferometry, enabling surface metrology and topography reconstruction; (ii) laser-Doppler vibrometry, enabling real-time out-of-plane vibration analysis; and (iii) stroboscopic video microscopy, enabling real-time in-plane vibration analysis. Importantly, optically transparent liquid media don’t interfere with the laser beam, allowing characterization of samples in aqueous solutions. At the same time, position and velocity at surfaces of transparent objects can be measured, provided the surface introduces a sufficient discontinuity in the refractive index. This extends the applicability of this tool to microfluidics and biological research.