Hot Stage Microscopy (HSM)
What is HSM?
Hot Stage Microscopy (HSM) is a thermo-optical analysis technique that combines microscopy with precise temperature control to visually observe material behavior under thermal conditions. It tracks morphological changes in real-time for materials testing in R&D, production, and failure analysis.
Principle of work:
It provides critical visual data on:
- Phase Transitions – Directly observes melting (Tm), crystallization (Tc), and glass transition (Tg) phenomena with simultaneous visual confirmation of structural changes.
- Polymorphic Transformations – Identifies different crystal forms and monitors solid-state transitions in pharmaceuticals and organic materials.
- Decomposition & Sintering – Tracks surface morphology changes during thermal degradation, oxidation, or sintering processes.
- Reaction Monitoring – Visually follows chemical reactions, curing processes, and phase separations in real-time under controlled heating.
Applications
- Pharmaceuticals – Directly observing polymorphic transitions, hydrate formation, and melting behavior to ensure drug stability and bioavailability.
- Materials Science – Studying sintering processes in ceramics, phase changes in alloys, and thermal behavior of polymers with visual verification.
- Nanomaterials – Monitoring nanoparticle aggregation, coating uniformity, and thermal stability at micro-scale resolution.
- Quality Control – Comparing batch consistency through visual thermal profiles and detecting impurities or inhomogeneities not visible with other techniques.
By combining thermal analysis with direct visual observation, HSM provides unique insights that complement DSC, TGA, and other thermal methods, offering a complete picture of material behavior under thermal stress.
Features | HSM |
Max. Furnace temperature | 1650 °C |
Max. Sample temperature | 1600 °C |
Sample Thermocouple | Type S |
Maximum heating Rate | 50 °C /min up to 1600°C |
Heating Element | Molybdenum disilicide (MoSiz) |
Working tube 99.7% Al2O3 | Replaceable without tools |
Sample Thermocouple | Protected against mechanical and chemical influences in an alumina protective tube, positioned directly under the sample |
Atmospheres | Oxidizing, Inert gas |
Furnace Control | Program controller, temperature amplifier, limit temperature monitoring, current limiting |
Specimen Carriage | Guided carriage, placing and aligning the samples outside the furnace |
Optical Components | LED light, CCD camera, 5 MP (resolution: 2592 X 1944) , 20 MP (resolution: 5440 X 3648), macro-telecentric lens, which is tailored to camera and lamp |
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