Confocal microscope
View Patent ↗A confocal microscope has an illumination beam path of a light source, a detection beam path of a detector, a scanning device, optics combining and separating the illumination beam path and detection beam path, and an objective, in which both an incident specimen illumination and a transmitted specimen illumination are possible. The confocal microscope according to the present invention is characterized in that in order to switch over from an incident specimen illumination occurring through the objective to a transmitted specimen illumination occurring toward the objective, beam deflection optics and optionally beam-shaping optics can be introduced on the side of the specimen plane facing away from the objective.
1. A confocal microscope comprising:
an illumination beam path of a light source which emits an illuminating light;
a detection beam path of a detector;
a scanning device;
a combining and separating member adapted to combine and separate the illumination beam path and the detection beam path;
an objective; and
a beam deflection member, wherein the beam deflection member is adapted so that introduction of the beam deflection member on a side of a specimen plane facing away from the objective switches illumination from incident specimen illumination occurring through the objective to transmitted specimen illumination occurring toward the objective;
wherein at least one varying member adapted to vary a specimen-side focal position of the illuminating light is disposed in the illumination beam, between the light source and the objective.
2. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein the varying member includes one of a variable-focus optical system or a lens, whose position is variable.
3. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein the varying member includes at least one lens adapted to be introduced into the illumination beam path.
4. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein the beam deflection member is configured as a mirror.
5. The microscope of claim 4 , wherein the mirror is configured as one of a non-plane mirror adapted to imaging properties, a spherical concave mirror, an aspherical concave mirror, and a parabolic mirror.
6. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein the beam deflection member is alignable using a positioning device, and displaceable in three spatial directions or tiltable about two axes.
7. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein the illuminating light is focused in a specimen region only once.
8. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein the combining and separating member is one of a polarization beam splitter or a wavelength-specific beam splitter.
9. The microscope of claim 8 , wherein one of polarizing, polarization-modifying, or polarization-rotating members is adapted to separation of the illuminating light from a detected light and is disposed in the beam path.
10. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein one of filters or beam splitters are provided for fluorescence microscopy.
11. The microscope of claim 10 , wherein the illuminating light strikes in a different region of the scanning device than the detected light.
12. The microscope of claim 10 , wherein the scanning device is configured as a mirror scanner.
13. The microscope of claim 10 , wherein the scanning device is configured as a reflective disk scanner.
14. The microscope of claim 10 , wherein the scanning device is configured as a Nipkow disk.
15. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein the scanning device is configured as a Nipkow disk having a plurality of pinholes.
16. The microscope of claim 15 , wherein each pinhole of the Nipkow disk has at least one microlens associated with it.
17. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein the scanning device is configured as a reflective disk scanner.
18. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein the scanning device is configured as a mirror scanner.
19. The microscope of claim 1 , further comprising a beam-shaping member adjacent the beam deflection member.
20. The microscope of claim 19 , wherein the beam-shaping member is configured as one of a lens or an objective.
21. The microscope of claim 19 , wherein the beam-shaping member is alignable using a positioning device, and displaceable in three spatial directions or tiltable about two axes.
22. The microscope of claim 1 , wherein the combining and separating member is a beam splitter, wherein the beam deflection member is configured as a mirror, and wherein the varying member includes one of a variable-focus optical system or a lens.