oscillating mirrors. This scanning method usually has a low reaction latency and the scan speed can be varied. Slower scans provide a better signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in better contrast. The achievable thickness of the focal plane is defined mostly by the wavelength of the used light divided by the numerical aperture of the objective lens, but also by the optical properties of the specimen. The thin optical sectioning possible makes these types of microscopes particularly good at 3D imaging and surface profiling of samples. Successive slices make up a 'z-stack', which can either be processed to create a 3D image, or it is merged into a 2D stack (predominately the maximum pixel intensity is taken, other common methods include using the standard deviation or summing the pixels). Confocal microscopy provides the capacity for direct, noninvasive, serial optical sectioning of intact, thick, living specimens with a minimum of sample preparation as well as a marginal improvement in lateral resolution compared to wide-field microscopy. Biological samples are often treated with fluorescent dyes to make selected objects visible. However, the actual dye concentration can be low to minimize the disturbance of biological systems: some instruments can track single fluorescent molecules. Also, transgenic techniques can create organisms that produce their own fluorescent chimeric molecules (such as a fusion of GFP, green fluorescent protein with the protein of interest). Confocal microscopes work on the principle of point excitation in the specimen (diffraction limited spot) and point detection of the resulting fluorescent signal. A pinhole at the detector provides a physical barrier that blocks out-of-focus fluorescence. Only the in-focus, or central spot of the Airy disk, is recorded. Techniques used for horizontal scanning Four types of confocal microscopes are commercially available: Confocal laser scanning microscopes use multiple mirrors (typically 2 or 3 scanning linearly along the x- and the y- axes) to scan the laser across the sample and "descan" the image across a fixed pinhole and detector. This process is usually slow and does not work for live imaging, but can be useful to create high-resolution representative images of fixed samples. Spinning-disk (Nipkow disk) confocal microscopes use a series of moving pinholes on a disc to scan spots of light. Since a series of pinholes scans an area in parallel, each pinhole is allowed to hover over a specific area for a longer amount of time thereby reducing the excitation energy needed to illuminate a