Broad-band multispectral microscope for imaging transmission spectroscopy employing an array of light-emitting diodes

Optical spectral analysis and multispectral imaging provide powerful means for characterizing samples in a wide variety of applications and on many spatial scales. We present a simple implementation of these techniques in the context of microscopy. A modified commercial microscope equipped with a CMOS imaging detector, combined with an array of light emitting diodes with emission ranging from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths, is described, and examples of information enhancement using multivariate analysis are presented.