Episcopic illumination involves shining light onto the top surface of a specimen and observing the reflected light, rather than transmitting light through it. This setup is standard in metallurgical microscopes and surface inspection tools where the samples are opaque. It often uses a beamsplitter to direct the source light down through the objective lens onto the target.
Heard on the job
Switch the microscope to episcopic mode so we can inspect the surface defects on this silicon wafer.