There are several factors that make the Stable “Z” superior to traditional “stage heaters”.
When a material is heated it expands. This is why other “stage heaters induce thermal drift. However, within the heated core components of the Stable Z, there is a nodal plane from which thermal expansion occurs. The perimeter of the Stable Z’s heated core, which is also the mechanical support surface for the heated core, is machined to this nodal plane. Then the specimen resting surface is machined down to the same level. The exposed nodal plane is attached to a glass plate having a near zero coefficient of expansion and poor thermal conductivity. Therefore, heat produced in the core of the device is isolated from the microscope. Therefore, even though heat is being applied to the specimen from a metal, peripherally located source, the effect of thermal expansion is not transmitted to the specimen plane because the support surface, nodal plane within the heating core, and specimen are all coplanar with each other and stay that way.