ZEN Core

Unified Software for your Lab

  • Light Microscopy
  • Electron Microscopy
  • Data Analysis
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Full Control of your Microscopes

Perform exactly the microscopy workflows your lab needs. ZEN Core streamlines image acquisition, analysis, and data management for both light and scanning electron microscopes. Whether you’re in materials research or life sciences, ZEN Core connects instruments, workflows, and users through one intuitive interface — from imaging to analysis to report generation.

Built for Light Microscopy Productivity

ZEN Core is your command center for light microscopy. Create guided, repeatable jobs that ensure consistency across users and sessions. Automated acquisition tools such as Best Image, HDR, Panorama, and Extended Depth of Field save time while delivering reproducible, high-quality data. The Materials Apps toolkit provides built-in, standards-based analyses — grain size, layer thickness, and more — making it ideal for materials research, metallurgy, and quality control.

Materials Apps

  • Grains Analysis

    Quantify the crystallographic structure of your metallographic sample in accordance to international standards.

  • Layer Thickness

    Evaluate complex layers systems either automatically or interactively. The module calculates the course of the measurement chords depending on the gradient present.

  • Porosity

    Analyze the phase distribution in your samples. Determine size, shape or orientation precisely and fully automatically. Use this distribution analysis to gain information about porosity of additive manufactured material.

  • Cast Iron Analysis

    Analyze the shape and size of graphite particles fully automatically. Obtain the spheroid number according to DIN EN ISO 945 (2019). Determine the nodularity of vermicular graphite and examine the content of graphite particles in area percentage.

Intellesis AI-Powered Image Analysis

ZEN Core leverages AI-powered image analysis to automate segmentation, layer thickness measurements, and phase analysis for materials applications.

Using the optional AI Toolkit and Intellesis Instance Segmentation, microscopists can quickly train models for complex samples such as dense battery materials or overlapping objects.

SEM-Ready When You Are

ZEN Core introduces intuitive control for ZEISS SEMs, combining imaging, EDS analytics, and reporting in one interface. The central navigation workspace and adaptable workbenches simplify SEM operation for all skill levels. Users can perform automated tile acquisition, register overview maps, and analyze elemental composition directly within the software — no need to switch computers or screens.

For FIB-SEM users, ZEN Core also supports automated TEM lamella preparation, making it a truly cross-modality platform for correlative microscopy.

ZEN Connect

ZEN Connect lets you combine data from light, digital, and electron microscopes in one shared workspace.

Easily align images from different instruments, track regions of interest, and view all modalities in spatial context — no manual registration needed.

Start with an optical overview on your Axioscope 7 or Axio Imager, then revisit the same coordinates in your ZEISS SEM for high-resolution and EDS analysis.

All datasets — from brightfield and polarized light to backscattered electron or chemical maps — are automatically linked and stored within your ZEN Connect Project.

Key Capabilities:

  • Correlative Microscopy: Seamlessly link LM, SEM, and XRM data into one workspace.
  • Multi-Scale Navigation: Jump from overview to micron-scale detail with a single click.
  • Project Management: Save ROIs, notes, and measurement results together for consistent analysis.
  • Cross-User Collaboration: Share correlated projects with team members for review and annotation — even remotely via ZEN Data Explorer.
  • Powerful Integration: Works directly within ZEN Core and ZEN Analyzer for one connected workflow from imaging to reporting.

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