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:
Aug. 31, 2004
Filed:
May. 12, 2000
Johann Engelhardt, Bad Schoenborn, DE;
Heinrich Ulrich, Heidelberg, DE;
William C. Hay, Hoppenheim, DE;
Leica Microsystems Heidelberg GmbH, Heidelberg, DE;
Abstract
The invention relates to an optical system in the ray path of a confocal fluorescence microscope, comprising at least one laser light source ( ), a device positioned in the illuminating/detecting beam ( ) for separating the exciting light ( ) from the fluorescent light ( ), an objective ( ) arranged between the device and the object ( ), and a detector ( ) positioned downstream of the device situated in the detecting beam ( ). The aim of the invention is to increase the fluorescence yield of the system while retaining its compact structure. To this end the separating device comprises a mirror ( ) which is dimensioned and positioned in the illuminating and/or detecting beam ( ) in such a way that for the dark-field illumination of the object ( ) it reflects the non-expanded exciting beam arriving from the laser light source ( ) into the objective ( ) and permits the transit of the fluorescence light ( ) arriving from the object ( ) in the direction of the detector ( ) with full numerical aperture, the fluorescent light beam being reduced by the mirror ( ) cross-section active in the detecting beam ( ).