Yokogawa Electric Corporation

Riken Corporation

Kenta Mikuriya

Toshiyuki Suzuki

Takeo Tanaami

Takayuki Kei

Yumiko Sugiyama

Naoki Seki

Hideo Hirukawa

Katsumi Isozaki

Yasuhito Kosugi

Akira Ohya

Shoji Uehara

Takashi Yoshida

Atsushi Miyawaki

Takeharu Nagai

Naomichi Chida

Isao Uchida

Masuo Hanawaka

Yasuhiro Tanibata

Tomoaki Nanko

Toshio Iino

Minoru Nakagawara

Kenji Hachiya

Yasunori Yokoyama

Hideomi Negishi

Takashi Akiyama

Yoshiaki Naganuma

Kenichi Yamakawa

Yoshiaki c/o Digital Stream Corporation Naganuma

A focus error detecting optical system has an optical parameter which makes a focus lock-in range by a focus error signal be a value capable of detecting focus on a front surface of a cover glass and focus on a back surface thereof separately. A control section, based on the focus error signal obtained by the focus error detecting optical system, brings a focal point of an observational optical system to a focus position. Further, focus error detecting optical systems include optical units each having an optical parameter corresponding to a numerical aperture of respective objective lenses. A control section selects the optical unit of the focus error detecting optical system corresponding to the objective lens in use. The control section, using a focus error signal obtained by the selected focus error detecting optical system, brings a focal point of an observational optical system to a focus position.

Focus error detecting optical system for a microscope

There is achieved a confocal scanner capable of being adjusted can be achieved with ease so as to be in a well-balanced state where a utilization ratio of an excited light is high and light quantity distribution on the cross-section of beams is excellent in evenness even in the case of being coupled with an optical fiber varying in a beam spread-angle. The confocal scanner is provided with a collimator lens for causing beams outgoing from an emission end of an optical fiber for guiding an excited light, with a predetermined spread-angle, to be converted into collimated beams before falling on a microlens disk, wherein a beam spread-angle adjusting means for adjusting the spread-angle is provided between the emission end, and the collimator lens.

Confocal scanner having beam spread angle adjustment device

A confocal microscope uses fluorescent or reflected light obtained by irradiating a plurality of beam spots to a sample so as to observe the sample. The confocal microscope has a phase modulator element which modulates phase of laser light to form the beam spots, a liquid crystal element which forms a plurality of pinholes through which only the fluorescent or the reflected light is transmitted, and a control section which controls the phase modulator element and the liquid crystal element.

Confocal microscope

A confocal optical scanner of Nipkow disk type for measuring a sample, in which each component of two or more color pigments, has a high reflection mirror for separating an excited light to be radiated onto the sample and a fluorescence emitted from the sample, wherein a reflectance of the high reflection mirror is from 80% to 100% in a measured wavelength region including at least an excited light wavelength region and a fluorescence wavelength region. Thereby, the confocal optical scanner capable of measuring a polychromatic fluorescent image at the same time is realized with the enhanced light receiving efficiency of fluorescence, using one high reflection mirror without using a plurality of dichroic mirrors by exchange.

Confocal optical scanner

The present invention provides a confocal scanning microscope whereby fluorescence observations can be made using a plurality of types of excitation light without the need for attaching and detaching a light source to and from the optical fiber. The confocal scanning microscope comprises:

Confocal scanning microscope

This invention realizes a three-dimensional confocal microscope in which mechanical vibrations do not occur in the scanning unit for scanning in the direction of optical axis, and in which scanning in the direction of optical axis can be carried out at a high speed. This invention has the following features. In the confocal microscope having a confocal scanner attached to an optical microscope and constructed to enable acquisition of an image of a sample as a confocal image by the confocal scanner, a variable-focus lens of surface tension control type having no moving part is uses as the field lens.

Three-dimensional confocal microscope

The present invention is characterized in that it is possible to provide a three-dimensional confocal microscope system configured so that an objective lens can be scanned in the optical-axis direction using an actuator to obtain sliced confocal images of a sample, wherein the actuator is driven using a scanning waveform signal, which is triangular or step-like and has been corrected so that acceleration is kept virtually constant at discontinuous points of change in the scanning waveform signal, thereby consistently providing sliced confocal images of the sample.

Three-dimensional confocal microscope system

A confocal microscope comprising a confocal laser scanner which rotates a Nipkow disk at high speed together with microlenses wherein a beam splitter of a plate type is disposed between two integrated disks, in each of which a plurality of microlenses and minute openings are arranged with the same pattern in an array, and wherein the axis of incident light is tilted by a significant angle to the vertical incident axis of the microlenses, so that the light axis shift generated by the plate beam splitter is cancelled and the incident light to the relevant microlense is caused to be focused to the corresponding minute opening thereby improving light use efficiency.

A confocal optical scanner which realizes optical scanning without nonuniformity of brightness at the inside and outside periperies of the pinhole disk by arraying the pinholes along spiral tracks at the same pitch; which allows adjustment of decentering to be readily performed by disposing pinholes so that stripes do not occur even when decentering is large; which allows more incident light to be collected at the pinholes through a plurality of collector means by disposing the pinholes at focal points of the collector means; which improves luminous utilization efficacy by reducing the illumination area of light by adopting the collector means to focus outside of the aperture pupil; which prevents decrease of confocal resolution due to pinhole diameter by causing the light reflected from the sample to not enter a collector disk; and which reduces stray light from the pinhole disk by covering non-collector portions of the collector disk with a shading film.

An interference spectrometer which causes an interference by dividing an output light from a light source into two optical paths and by changing the length of each optical path, and which comprises a moving mirror for changing the optical path lengths, position detecting means for detecting the position of the moving mirror and driving control means for controlling the position of the moving mirror, based on the output from the position detecting means. The spectrometer utilizes leaf springs to support the moving mirror, and the driving control means is driven at the natural frequency of the combined moving mirror and leaf springs and based on the output of the position detecting means. Advantageously, the invention has improved vibration resistance and improved power consumption.

Interference spectrometer with a moving mirror

A confocal optical scanner which realizes optical scanning without nonuniformity of brightness at the inside and outside periperies of the pinhole disk by arraying the pinholes along spiral tracks at the same pitch; which allows adjustment of decentering to be readily performed by disposing pinholes so that stripes do not occur even when decentering is large; which allows more incident light to be collected at the pinholes through a plurality of collector elements by disposing the pinholes at focal points of the collector elements; which improves luminous utilization efficacy by reducing the illumination area of light by adopting the collector elements to focus outside of the aperture pupil; which prevents decrease of confocal resolution due to pinhole diameter by causing the light reflected from the sample to not enter a collector disk; and which reduces stray light from the pinhole disk by covering non-collector portions of the collector disk with a shading film.

A test system for optical disks, comprising a spindle motor for clamping and rotating an optical disk at a constant speed; an encoder for generating a pulse output corresponding to the angle of rotation of the motor; a measuring head comprising focus and tracking servo mechanisms for causing the focal point of a laser beam irradiating the disk to follow the guide groove thereof, and a displacement detector for optically detecting the displacement of a focusing lens driven by the servo mechanisms; the measuring head being operative to generate an output signal proportional to the displacement of the focusing lens; a feed mechanism for moving the measuring head in the radial direction of the disk; a control circuit for controlling the operations of the motor, the servo mechanisms and the feed mechanism; an analog to digital converter for converting the output of the measuring head at a timing according to the pulse output of the encoder; and a computer for commanding the control circuit and for computing the output of the analog to digital converter to determine the shape of the disk, whereby displacement of the focusing lens is directly detected by the displacement detector.

Test system for optical disks

A test system for optical disks, comprising a spindle motor for bearing and rotating an optical disk at a constant speed; a measuring head, comprising focus servor and tracking servo mechanisms for causing the focal point of a laser beam irradiating the optical disk to follow the guide groove of the disk, for generating an output signal proportional to the intensity of the reflected beam coming from the optical disk; a feed mechanism for moving the measuring head in a radial direction of the optical disk; a control circuit for controlling the operations of the spindle motor, the focus servo and tracking servo mechanism of the measuring head, and the feed mechanism; a measurer for performing desired measurements in response to the output signal from the measuring head; and a computer for commanding the control circuit and the measurer and for processing the measured data of the measurer, whereby all the measurements are accomplished with the guide groove of the disk being under the focus and tracking servos.

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Musashino, Japan

Kenta Mikuriya