The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 04, 2003
Filed:
Mar. 21, 2001
Wade Thomas Cathey, Jr., Boulder, CO (US);
The Regents of the University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (US);
Abstract
An improved confocal microscope utilizes an array of light sources imaged onto an object, and an array of small detectors to detect the light from each source. Cross talk between the beams of light is prevented by temporally modulating the sources at different frequencies. Light from one source is temporally modulated at a first frequency, for example in the megahertz region. A reference signal at the same frequency plus an offset frequency is also sent to the detector assigned to that source. The detected signal and the reference signal are then beat together, and heterodyne detection is used to detect only the light from the assigned source, which will beat with the reference signal and produce a signal at the offset frequency. Light from other sources beat with the reference signal to produce different frequency beat signals, which are filtered out using bandpass filters.