Leica Microsystems Cms Gmbh

Leica Microsystems Heidelberg Gmbh

Dr. Johannes Heidenhain Gmbh

Polytec Gmbh

Volker Seyfried

Holger Birk

Bernd Widzgowski

Rafael Storz

Frank Schreiber

Hilmar Gugel

Vishnu Vardhan Krishnamachari

Marcus Dyba

William C Hay

Wolfgang Holzapfel

Sebastian Tondorf

Jan Braasch

Jochen Sieber

Carsten L Thomsen

Frank Olschewski

Dirk-Oliver Fehrer

Frank Hecht

Manuel Kremer

Derek Webster

Harald Brueggemann

Mario Belzer

Jürgen Thiel

Vishnu Varden Krishnamachari

Vishnu Vardan Krishnamachari

Henrik Schmid

Roland Moschel

William Hay

Florian Warken

The invention relates to an interferometric measurement device and to an interferometric method for determining the surface topography of a measurement object (). The essence of the invention is that the light intensities I(z) of at least one other detector element q of the multi-element detector () are also used besides the light intensities I(z) of this detector element to determine the value zassociated with a detector element p () of the measurement device.

Interferometric measurement device and interferometric method for determining the surface topography of a measurement object

The invention relates to a beam combiner for a microscope, in particular a scanning microscope, which receives at least a first illuminating light bundle and a second illuminating light bundle and combines them into a collinear output light bundle, the first illuminating light bundle and the second illuminating light bundle having the same illuminating light wavelength but a different polarization, in particular linear polarization. The beam combiner is embodied as an acousto-optic beam combiner and is constructed and operated in such a way that by interaction with at least one mechanical wave, both the first illuminating light bundle and the second illuminating light bundle are diffracted and are thereby directed into a common optical axis.

Microscope and acousto-optic beam combiner for a microscope

A fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy method with time-correlated single photon counting includes periodically exciting a sample to emit fluorescence photons, with a measurement interval being defined between each two successive excitation light pulses. A value characterizing fluorescence decay behavior is determined based on detection times of detected fluorescence photons, and imaging is performed based one the value. An analog detector signal is sampled within a plurality of sampling intervals within a respective one of the measurement intervals and is converted into a sequence of discrete signal values associated with the sampling intervals. It is determined based thereon whether more than a predefined number of fluorescence photons has been detected within the respective measurement interval. If more than the predefined number of fluorescence photons has been detected, the respective measurement interval is discarded in the step of determining the value characterizing the fluorescence decay behavior.

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy method having time-correlated single-photon counting, which method permits higher light intensities

A Raman microscopy imaging device () is described, having: a first laser light source () for emitting a first laser beam () having a first wavelength along a first light path (); a second laser light source () for emitting a second laser beam () having a second wavelength, different from the first wavelength, along a second light path () physically separated from the first light path (); a beam combining element () for collinearly combining the two laser beams () in one shared light path () directed onto a sample; a detector () for sensing a measured signal on the basis of the two laser beams () interacting with the sample; and an evaluation unit () for evaluating the measured signal sensed by the detector (). According to the present invention the first laser light source () is embodied as a pulsed source, and the second laser light source () as a continuous source.

Raman microscopic imaging device

A device () for illuminating a sample () is described, having: at least one pulsed laser light source () for repeated emission of a first laser pulse along a first light path () and of a second laser pulse along a second light path () physically separated from the first light path; a superimposition element () for collinear superimposition of the two laser pulses in a shared light path (); a delay stage () arranged in the first or the second light path (), for delaying one of the two laser pulses relative to the other laser pulse in such a way that the two laser pulses sent along the shared light path () onto the sample () exhibit a temporal superimposition; a shared chirp unit () arranged in the shared light path (), for frequency-modifying influencing both of the first laser pulse and of the second laser pulse; and at least one separate chirp unit () arranged in the first light path (), for frequency-modifying influencing only of the first laser pulse. The shared chirp unit () and the separate chirp unit () are coordinated with one another in order to achieve a target state. The separate chirp unit () is coupled to a control system () by which the separate chirp unit () is controllable with a control parameter dependent on the wavelength of the first laser pulse in order to establish the target state.

Device and method for illuminating a sample

The invention relates to a microscope having an acousto-optic apparatus () that, with a mechanical wave that is characterized by a preferably adjustable frequency, removes from a polychromatic and collinear detected light bundle () portions of illuminated light, scattered and/or reflected at a sample, having an illuminating light wavelength associated with the frequency. The microscope is notable for the fact that a crystal () of the acousto-optic apparatus in which the mechanical wave propagates, and the propagation direction of the mechanical wave, are oriented relative to the detected light bundle incident into the crystal in such a way that the acousto-optic apparatus deflects, with the mechanical wave, both the portion of the detected light bundle having the illuminating wavelength and a first linear polarization direction, and the portion of the detected light bundle having the illuminating wavelength and a second linear polarization direction perpendicular to the first polarization direction, and thereby removes them from the detected light bundle.

Microscope with an acousto-optical device

A device for detecting light includes at least one silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) having an array of a plurality of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), the array being larger in area than an incident light. The device is configured so as to at least one of activate and analyze only the SPADs upon which a specific minimum intensity of light impinges.

Device and method for detecting light

A method for light-microscopy imaging of a sample structure () is described, having the following steps:

Method and device for light-microscopic imaging of a sample structure

The invention relates to a method and a system for central computer controlled execution of at least one test run in a scanning microscope, particularly a confocal microscope, wherein at least one first software module of an application software is tested. The invention achieves the aim by a network made of individual scanning microscope clients and a central server. The clients can be contacted via a network interface and are administered in a central directory in the server. The application software for the individual components of a scanning microscope is made of individual software modules, each associated with a potential test. In order to be able to perform the various tests, the scanning microscope clients have been equipped on the hardware side with additional sensors and components that allow various operating parameters to be determined.

System and method for computer-controlled execution of at least one test in a scanning microscope

A detector apparatus that is embodied to receive light and to generate electrical signals has a housing and a detector arranged in the housing. The detector includes a light sensor that is embodied to receive light and to release electrons. The light sensor is at a lower electrical potential level than the housing; and that the detector is in thermally conductive contact with the housing via an electrically insulating intermediate arrangement, the thermal conduction direction inside the housing being opposite to the light propagation direction of the light to be detected.

Detector apparatus

An acousto-optical filter element () is provided which has an acousto-optical crystal () having an acoustic signal transmitter () for generating acoustic signals in the acousto-optical crystal (). The acousto-optical crystal () is designed to selectively spatially deflect light of a target wavelength from an input light beam () entering into the acousto-optical crystal (), as a function of a high frequency applied to the acoustic signal transmitter (), and to thereby produce a target light beam () having the target wavelength. In addition, the acousto-optical filter element () includes a spatial filter element () which is located in the target light beam () and is designed to selectively suppress the intensity of the target light beam () in a plane perpendicular to the propagation direction of the target light beam ().

Acousto-optical tunable filter element

A microscope for fluorescence imaging microscopy, in particular for wide-field fluorescence microscopy, including a pulsed light source () and an imaging detector (), is characterized in that means for gating are provided, and in that the gating causes the light source () and the detector () to be synchronized in order to suppress reflected/scattered light such that suitable fluorescence components are used for evaluation and unsuitable components are rejected. Furthermore, a method is used to perform fluorescence imaging microscopy using the microscope according to the present invention.

Microscope and method for fluorescence imaging microscopy

An apparatus for controlling an acousto-optical component influencing at least one of illumination light and detection light in a microscope is described. The apparatus comprises a radio-frequency generator for supplying the acousto-optical component with a radio frequency. The radio-frequency generator is configured to compensate deviations in the characteristics of the light due to temperature fluctuations in the acousto-optical component by adapting the radio frequency. The apparatus can be operated by generating a control signal for controlling the radio frequency of the radio-frequency generator; measuring the temperature of the acousto-optical component; adapting the control signal depending on the measured temperature; and sending the adapted control signal into the radio-frequency generator for compensating deviations in the characteristics of the light due to temperature fluctuations and can be used in optical coherence tomography, particularly white light interferometry, optical tweezers in lithography, and distance measurement.

Apparatus and method for operating an acousto-optical component

A device in the form of a scanning microscope, a device in the form of a structural unit for a microscope and a method and a device for optically scanning one or more samples. A device in the form of a scanning microscope has a light source (), which emits an illuminating light beam (). A focusing lens system () focuses the illuminating light beam () on a region to be examined of a sample (). An actuator arrangement moves the focusing lens system () according to a prescribed scanning pattern transversely in relation to a center axis of the illuminating light beam () and/or in relation to a housing of a structural unit () that encloses the focusing lens system ().

Scanning microscope and method for optically scanning one or more samples

The invention relates to a method and a device for illuminating or irradiating an object, a sample (), or the like, for the purpose of imaging or analysis, particularly for use in a laser microscope (), preferably in a confocal microscope having a laser light source () emitting the illuminating light, the laser light being coupled directly or by means of a glass fiber into an illumination light path (), characterized in that the laser light source () is switched on rapidly upon a trigger signal directly prior to the actual need, for example, directly prior to imaging.

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Nussloch, Germany

Volker Seyfried