Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Corporation

Shinichi Dosaka

Akira Watanabe

Hiroshi Kurosawa

Yoshimasa Suzuki

Seiji Kondo

Yuko Kobayashi

Juro Kikuchi

Hiroshi Takase

Hirobumi Suzuki

Hiroyasu Hebiishi

Hiroaki Noda

Yoko Ohashi

Hiroyuki Kurita

Atsutoshi Yokota

Sachiko Karaki

Hideki Obuchi

Kenichi Harada

Kazuo Washiyama

This visual inspection apparatus has a macro-inspection section and a micro-inspection section. In the micro-inspection section, a inspection stage and a microscope are loaded into a loading plate. The inspection stage can be moved in any directions of the X, Y, and Z directions, and can also be rotated in the &#x3b8; direction. Moreover, a peripheral edge inspection section that acquires an enlarged image of a peripheral edge of wafer W is fixed to the loading plate. The peripheral edge inspection section is arranged so as to image the peripheral edge of wafer W held by the inspection stage.

Visual inspection apparatus, visual inspection method, and peripheral edge inspection unit that can be mounted on visual inspection apparatus

In order to be able to take an image of a specimen emitting low light in a short exposure time by a cooled CCD at about 0&#xb0; C., a low-light specimen image pickup unit has an imaging optical system forming a specimen image of a specimen having a point light source emitting a low light, and the low-light specimen image pickup unit further has an image pickup unit having a plurality of pixels receiving incident light, for taking an image corresponding to the specimen image. In the low-light specimen image pickup unit, the imaging optical system is telecentric to a side of the specimen image of the imaging optical system, and condenses the low light emitted from the point light source to form an Airy disk of a size which is substantially the same as a pixel of the pixels, or which is smaller than the pixel. Here, the pixel receives the low light emitted from the point light source.

Low-light specimen image pickup unit and low-light specimen image pickup apparatus

In optical measurement utilizing total reflection, various types of measurement are selectively performed. The invention provides an optical measurement apparatus using total reflection, including a light source, a measurement optical system, and a light detector. The measurement optical system is an infinity-corrected positive lens formed of an optical member having a planar surface orthogonal to an optical axis of the measurement optical system at a front focal position. One side of the optical axis of the measurement optical system is used as a projection optical system for radiating measurement light onto a specimen, and another side is used as a photometric optical system for acquiring reflected light from the specimen. The light source is disposed at an entrance pupil position on the projection optical system side or at a position conjugate to the entrance pupil position and moves in an entrance pupil plane or in a plane conjugate to the entrance pupil position, along a straight line orthogonal to the optical axis, while a distance from the optical axis is detected. The light detector is disposed at an exit pupil position on the photometric optical system side or at a position conjugate to the exit pupil position. The optical-measurement apparatus comprises a light-source changing unit configured to change the position or shape of the light source.

Optical measurement apparatus utilizing total reflection

There is disclosed a method of irradiating a specimen which is laid on a substrate and which includes a cell with a laser beam to remove an unnecessary specimen portion other than a cell portion from the substrate, next inserting the cell portion into one opening in a cylindrical member to dispose the cylindrical member onto the substrate, next injecting a stripping agent into a container formed by the substrate and cylindrical member to strip the cell portion from the substrate, and sampling the cell portion which floats in the stripping agent.

Method of isolating cell or sample to be analyzed in cell

A fluorescence reader of the present invention detects fluorescence from a sample present on a carrier or in a solution, and the fluorescence reader includes a light source which radiates parallel light, a projection lens which converges the light from the light source, an objective lens which irradiates the sample with the light converged in a rear-side focal position, an image forming lens which forms fluorescence emitted from the sample and passed through the objective lens into an image, a light receiving pinhole disposed in an image forming position of the image forming lens, and detector which detects the fluorescence passed through the light receiving pinhole.

Fluorescence reader wherein uniform fluorescence measurement is accomplished regardless of the state of the measurement object

The automatic focusing apparatus of this invention focuses the measuring beam emitted from a light source on a sample through one side of the pupil of an objective lens, causes light reflected by the sample to pass through the pupil of the objective lens again, focuses the light passing through the pupil of the objective lens on a light-receiving unit, and detects the spot position of the focused light. Especially, this automatic focusing apparatus has a first light-shielding member for shielding light reflected by the lower surface of a transparent thin plate in the vicinity of the focal point of the light reflected by the lower surface of the transparent thin plate, or a second light-shielding member for transmitting therethrough only light reflected by the upper surface of the transparent thin plate in the vicinity of the focal point of the light reflected by the upper surface of the transparent thin plate.

Automatic focusing apparatus which removes light reflected by a lower

A stereomicroscope comprising a pair of observation systems each comprising an objective lens and an eyepiece lens, a pair of light sources disposed above the objective lens for emitting a pair of light beams through a pair of beam splitters into the observation systems coaxially therewith, pairs of polarizers disposed on the side of the eyepiece lenses and the side of the light sources respectively so as to have polarizing surfaces perpendicular to each other, a quarter wavelength plate interposed between the objective lens and a sample to be observed, and a pair of light beam deflecting members disposed between the beam splitters and the objective lens. The polarizers disposed on the side of the eyepiece lenses are removable from optical paths and eyepiece tubes are arranged with the polarizers disposed on the side of the eyepiece lenses interposed between the eyepiece tubes and an intermediate tube containing the pair of light beam deflecting members and the polarizers disposed on the side of the eyepiece lenses. This stereomicroscope permits locating eye points thereof at low positions close to microscopists and quickly switching microscopic modes from one to another.

Stereomicroscope including two pair of polarizers and a quarter

A stage driving device for optical examining apparatus has a pair of moving beds capable of traveling in directions perpendicular to each other, straight guide members mounted on the moving beds, driving knobs coaxially arranged to move the moving beds, and a transmission mechanism converting a rotary motion of each of the driving knobs into a rectilinear motion of each of the moving beds. By the operation of the transmission mechanism, the movements of the moving beds can be made in two directions perpendicular to each other, independently or simultaneously. Additionally, the wear of parts of the straight guide members and the transmission mechanism is minimal and the use of inexpensive parts and the ease of assembly makes it possible to reduce the cost of the entire device.

Stage driving device for optical examining apparatus

A microscope apparatus in which an arm and a focusing adjustment are arranged to be detachable with respect to a foot base to make possible to change the length of the arm from an optical axis of an objective provided in the arm and an inner surface of a stand portion of the arm; a height of the arm; a stiffness of the focusing adjustment. In the apparatus according to the invention, since the arm having a different length or a different height and the focusing adjustment having a different stiffness can be selectively adapted to the foot base, it is possible to examine by one apparatus specimens having different dimensions.

Microscope apparatus

A turret condenser for microscopes is equipped with two turrets which are capable of interposing combinations of numerous types of optical elements on the optical axis and rotatably arranged in overlapped positions in the vicinity of the pupil of a condenser lens. Most of the optical elements are removably accommodated in each of the turrets. This turret condenser makes it possible to perform microscopy in various modes by simple operations.

Growing community of inventors

Tsukui-gun, Japan

Shinichi Dosaka