Scan-less confocal microscope with high resolution related applications
View Patent ↗Devices, systems and methods are described that can be used to develop confocal microscopes with high lateral resolution. One example confocal microscope includes a first dispersion element that receives a light beam and to produce illumination beams with different spectral components, and an objective that receives reflected light upon reflection of the illumination beams from a target. The confocal microscope further includes a second dispersion element that receives the reflected light after propagation through in the objective lens, and a third dispersion element that receives the dispersed light associated with the second dispersion element and provides an output light to a camera lens for focusing onto a detector. The second and the third dispersion elements are positioned such that each point on the detector is conjugate to a corresponding single point on the target. Some applications of the disclosed confocal microscopes include skin disease diagnosis and imaging of freshly-excised tissues.
1. A confocal microscope, comprising:
a first dispersion element positioned to receive a light beam and to produce illumination beams having different spectral components for illumination of a target;
an objective lens positioned to receive reflected light from the target upon reflection of the illumination beams from the target;
a second dispersion element positioned to receive the reflected light after propagation through the objective lens; and
a third dispersion element positioned to receive the dispersed light associated with the second dispersion element and to provide an output light to a camera lens for focusing onto a detector, wherein
the second and the third dispersion elements are positioned such that each point on the detector is conjugate to a corresponding single point on the target.
2. The confocal microscope of claim 1 , wherein for each spectral component of light, an angle of the light entering the second dispersion element is equal to a corresponding angle of light that exits the third dispersion element.
3. The confocal microscope of claim 1 , wherein the light exiting the third dispersion element is collimated light.
4. The confocal microscope of the claim 1 , further including a detection slit positioned between the second and the third dispersion elements.
5. The confocal microscope of the claim 4 , wherein a width of the detection slit is changeable.
6. The confocal microscope of claim 4 , further comprising:
a focusing lens positioned between the second dispersion element and the detection slit, and
a collimation lens positioned between the detection slit and the third dispersion element.
7. The confocal microscope of claim 1 , wherein the second dispersion element and the third dispersion element are positioned to produce a detection point spread function (PSF) having an elongated dimension that is not parallel to a lateral direction of the target.
8. The confocal microscope of claim 1 , wherein the second dispersion element is positioned to change a direction of the light incident thereupon by a first angle and in a first direction, and the third dispersion element is positioned to change a direction of the light incident thereupon by a second angle and in a second direction, wherein the first angle is equal to the second angle, and the first direction is equal to the second direction.
9. The confocal microscope of claim 1 , wherein each of the first, the second and the third dispersion elements is a diffraction grating.
10. The confocal microscope of claim 1 , wherein the target is a biological tissue.
11. The confocal microscope of claim 1 , wherein the detector includes a plurality of pixels.
12. The confocal microscope of claim 1 , further comprising a light source configured to produce the light beam received by the first dispersion element.
13. The confocal microscope of claim 12 , wherein the light source is a white light source.
14. A detection system in a confocal microscope, the detection system comprising:
an objective lens positioned to receive reflected light from a target that is illuminated with light having a plurality of spectral components;
a first dispersion element positioned to receive the reflected light after propagation through the objective lens; and
a second dispersion element positioned to receive the dispersed light output from the first dispersion element and to provide an output light to a camera lens for focusing onto a detector, wherein
the first and the second dispersion elements are positioned such that each point on the detector is conjugate to a corresponding single point on the target, wherein the first dispersion element and the second dispersion element are positioned to produce a detection point spread function (PSF) having an elongated dimension that is not parallel to a lateral direction of the target.
15. The detection system of claim 14 , wherein for each spectral component of light, an angle of light entering the first dispersion element is equal to a corresponding angle of light that exits the second dispersion element.
16. The detection system of claim 14 , wherein the light exiting the second dispersion element is collimated light.
17. The detection system of claim 14 , further including:
a detection slit positioned between the first and the second dispersion elements,
a focusing lens positioned between the first dispersion element and the detection slit, and
a collimation lens positioned between the detection slit and the second dispersion element.
18. The detection system of claim 14 , wherein the first dispersion element is positioned to change a direction of the light incident thereupon by a first angle and in a first direction, and the second dispersion element is positioned to change a direction of the light incident thereupon by a second angle and in a second direction, wherein the first angle is equal to the second angle, and the first direction is equal to the second direction.
19. The detection system of claim 14 , comprising the camera lens and the detector, wherein the detector includes a plurality of pixels.
20. The detection system of claim 19 , wherein the detector and the camera lens are part of an external device.
21. The detection system of claim 20 , wherein the external device is a smart phone or a tablet device.