IP Library › Granted Patent US 12681283

Granted Patent B2

US 12681283 · App. 17/844,970 · Granted Jul 14, 2026

Spectroscopic microscope with changeable optics/components

Inventors: Jesse Huso (Pullman, WA); Richard Saul Lytel (Pullman, WA); Matthew Douglas McCluskey (Pullman, WA); Violet Mary Poole (Pullman, WA)

Assignee: Klar Scientific, Inc.

G02B21/0032 G01N21/31 G02B21/0064 G02B21/0076 G02B21/361

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 12681283
App. No.: 17/844,970
Granted: Jul 14, 2026
Kind: B2

External Links

USPTO Patent Center↗ Full Patent PDF↗

Abstract

A modular microscope can quickly be modified for specific scanning applications. The microscope includes a microscope main body which has slots into which long pass filter modules, dichroic mirror modules, notch filter modules, and LED modules can be selectively placed, removed, and changed out. In some applications, the interchangeable components permit quickly changing between Photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy (microscope) systems.

Claims (49)

1 . A modular microscope kit, comprising:

a microscope main body comprising a first portion connected or connectable to at least one objective lens and a second portion connected or connectable to at least one fiber assembly that delivers optical information to a spectrometer,

wherein the microscope main body includes:

at least one light emitting diode (LED) port, at least one laser source port,

and at least one camera port,

at least one dichroic module slot, positioned in the microscope main body between the first portion and the second portion,

at least one long pass filter slot, positioned in the microscope main body between the at least one dichroic module slot and the second portion, and

at least one notch filter slot, positioned in the microscope main body in alignment with the at least one camera port, and

wherein the microscope main body is configured to provide one or more optical pathways from the at least one light emitting diode (LED) port and the at least one laser source port to one or more of the at least one camera port, the first portion of the microscope main body, and the second portion of the microscope main body;

at least one LED module that is removably connectable to the at least one LED port of the microscope main body;

at least one camera module that is removably connectable to the at least one camera port of the microscope main body;

at least one laser source that is removably connectable to the at least one laser source port of the microscope main body;

at least one dichroic module that is insertable into and removable from the at least one dichroic module slot in the microscope main body, and has a configuration such that while inserted in the at least one dichroic module slot the at least one dichroic module is positioned to:

direct, in response to receiving generated LED light from the at least one LED light connected to the at least on LED port, a portion of the generated LED light from the at least one LED module towards and through the first portion of the microscope main body, and

direct, in response to receiving generated laser light from the at least one laser source connected to the at least one laser source port, a portion of the generated laser light from the at least one laser source, towards and through the first portion of the microscope main body, and

direct a portion of a reflected light from the first portion of the microscope main body to either the at least one camera module connected to the at least one camera port, or the at least one fiber assembly, via the second portion of the microscope main body;

at least one notch filter module that is insertable into and removable from the at least one notch filter slot in the microscope main body, wherein:

the at least one notch filter slot in the microscope main body is configured such that the at least one notch filter module, while inserted in the at least one notch filter slot, is positioned in alignment with the at least one camera module connected to the at least one camera port, and

the at least one notch filter module is designed to block one or more wavelengths of the generated laser light and to allow other wavelengths of the generated LED light to pass therethrough; and

at least one long pass filter module that is insertable into and removable from the at least one long pass filter module slot in the microscope main body, and has a configuration to block, while inserted in the at least one long pass filter slot, stray light from the at least one laser source from reaching the at least one fiber assembly to which the second portion of the microscope main body is connected.

2 . The modular microscope kit of claim 1 wherein the at least one dichroic module and the at least one dichroic module slot in the microscope main body are mutually configured to have a keyed engagement which permits insertion of the at least one dichroic module into the at least one dichroic module slot in only one orientation relative to the microscope main body.

3 . The modular microscope kit of claim 1 wherein the at least one long pass filter module and the at least one long pass filter module slot in the microscope main body are mutually configured to have a keyed engagement which permits insertion of the at least one long pass filter module into the at least one long pass filter module slot in only one orientation relative to the microscope main body.

4 . The modular microscope kit of claim 1 wherein the at least one LED module and the at least one LED port in the microscope main body are mutually configured to have a keyed engagement which permits insertion of the at least LED module into the at least one LED port in only one orientation relative to the microscope main body.

5 . The modular microscope kit of claim 1 wherein the at least one camera module has a focus adjusting barrel.

6 . The modular microscope kit of claim 1 further comprising a beam splitter module positioned within the microscope main body and comprising at least a first beam splitter positioned in line with a laser beam projectable from the at least one laser source and configured to direct a portion of a split beam of the laser beam towards the at least one dichroic module.

7 . The modular microscope kit of claim 1 further comprising a beam splitter module positioned within the microscope main body and comprising at least a second beam splitter positioned in line with the at least one camera port, and configured to direct a portion of reflected light from the at least one dichroic module towards the at least one camera port, and towards the at least one camera module when connected to the at least one camera port.

8 . The modular microscope kit of claim 1 wherein the at least one LED module provides light at a shorter wavelength than the at least one laser module.

9 . The modular microscope kit of claim 1 , wherein the microscope main body further comprises a laser filter module slot and the modular microscope kit further comprises at least one laser filter module that is insertable into and removable from the laser filter module slot in the microscope main body, and has a configuration such that, while inserted in the laser filter module slot, the at least one laser filter module is positioned to filter a laser beam generated by the at least one laser source.

10 . The modular microscope kit of claim 1 wherein the modular microscope kit is configurable for both photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy.

11 . A kit for use with a modular microscope that comprises a microscope main body having a first portion connected or connectable to at least one objective lens and a second portion connected or connectable to at least one fiber assembly that delivers optical information to a spectrometer, wherein the microscope main body includes at least one light emitting diode (LED) port, at least one laser source port, and at least one camera port, and the microscope main body is configured to provide one or more optical pathways from the at least one LED port and the at least one laser source port to the at least one camera port, the first portion connected or connectable to the at least one objective lens, and the second portion connected or connectable to the at least one fiber assembly, wherein the microscope main body further includes a plurality of slots extending from an exterior to an interior of the microscope main body, wherein at least one of the slots in the plurality of slots is a dichroic module slot that is configured to accommodate at least one dichroic module and the at least one LED port is configured to accommodate at least one LED module, the kit comprising:

the at least one dichroic module, wherein the at least one dichroic module and the at least one dichroic module slot in the microscope main body are cooperatively configured to engage with a keyed connection which permits insertion of the at least one dichroic module in only one orientation relative to the microscope main body;

the at least one LED module, wherein the at least one LED module and the at least one LED port have a cooperative configuration such that the at least one LED module is insertable in and removable from the at least one LED port in the microscope main body; and

at least one laser source, wherein the at least one laser source and the at least one laser source port have a cooperative configuration such that the at least one laser source is removably connectable to the at least one laser source port of the microscope main body,

wherein the at least one dichroic module has a configuration such that while inserted in the at least one dichroic module slot the at least one dichroic module is positioned to:

12 . The kit of claim 11 wherein another at least one of the slots in the plurality of slots in the microscope main body is a long pass filter module slot that is configured for at least one long pass filter module, and the kit further comprises at least one long pass filter module wherein the at least one long pass filter module and the at least one long pass filter module slot in the microscope main body are cooperatively configured to have a keyed connection which permits insertion of the at least one long pass filter module in only one orientation relative to the microscope main body.

13 . The kit of claim 11 wherein the plurality of slots in the microscope main body further comprises at least one long pass filter module slot for at least one notch filter module, and the kit further comprises at least one notch filter module wherein the at least one notch filter module and the at least one notch filter module slot in the microscope main body are cooperatively configured to have a keyed connection which permits insertion of the at least one long pass filter module in only one orientation relative to the microscope main body.

14 . A kit for use with a modular microscope that comprises a microscope main body having a first portion connected or connectable to at least one objective lens and a second portion connected or connectable to at least one fiber assembly that delivers optical information to a spectrometer, wherein the microscope main body includes at least one light emitting diode (LED) port, and at least one camera port, and at least one laser source port, and is configured to provide one or more optical pathways from the at least one LED port and the at least one laser source port to the at least one camera port, to the first portion connected or connectable to the at least one objective lens, and to the second portion connected or connectable to the at least one fiber assembly, wherein the microscope main body has a plurality of slots, each extending from an exterior to an interior of the microscope main body, wherein at least one of the slots in the plurality of slots is configured as a to accommodate at least one dichroic module and another at least one of the slots in the plurality of slots is configured to accommodate at least one long pass filter module, comprising:

the at least one dichroic module configured with a keyed connection with at least one dichroic module slot in the microscope main body which permits insertion of the at least one dichroic module in only one orientation relative to the microscope main body;

the at least one long past filter module insertable into a slot for the long pass filter module in the microscope main body; and

at least one laser source removably connectable to the at least one laser source port of the microscope main body

wherein the at least one dichroic module has a configuration such that while inserted in the at least one dichroic module slot the at least one dichroic module is positioned to:

15 . The kit of claim 14 wherein the at least one dichroic module comprises a 349-405 nm dichroic mirror, the long pass filter module comprises a 349-405 nm long-pass filter, and the at least one laser comprises a 349-405 nm laser.

16 . The kit of claim 14 wherein the at least one dichroic module comprises a 635 nm dichroic mirror, the long pass filter module comprises a 635 nm long-pass filter, and the at least one laser comprises a 635 nm laser.

17 . The kit of claim 14 wherein the at least one dichroic module comprises a 940-975 nm dichroic mirror, the long pass filter module comprises a 940-975 nm long-pass filter, and the at least one laser comprises a 940-975 nm laser.

18 . The kit of claim 14 wherein the at least one dichroic module comprises a 266 nm dichroic mirror, the long pass filter module comprises a 266 nm long-pass filter, and the at least one laser comprises a 266 nm laser.