# US 11,442,259 B2 · Optical microscope and spectroscopic measurement method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,442,259 B2 - Document ID: US11442259B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/640,012 - Filed: 2018-08-17 - Published: 2020-08-06 - Granted: 2022-09-13 - Earliest claimed: 2017-08-18 - Assignees: Nanophoton Corporation - Applicants: Nanophoton Corporation - Inventors: Minoru Kobayashi; Shogo Kawano; Taisuke Ota; Shunichiro Matsuzaka; Yusuke Shiozaki; Shota Yamauchi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11442259B2 ## CPC - G02B 21/0048: {scanning mirrors, e.g. rotating or galvanomirrors, MEMS mirrors} - G01J 3/0208: {using focussing or collimating elements, e.g. lenses or mirrors; performing aberration correction} - G01J 3/0229: {using masks, aperture plates, spatial light modulators or spatial filters, e.g. reflective filters} - G01J 3/06: Scanning arrangements {arrangements for order-selection} - G01J 3/10: Arrangements of light sources specially adapted for spectrometry or colorimetry - G01J 3/44: Raman spectrometry; Scattering spectrometry {; Fluorescence spectrometry} - G01N 21/65: Raman scattering - G02B 21/004: {fixed arrays, e.g. switchable aperture arrays} - G02B 21/06: Means for illuminating specimens - G02B 21/361: {Optical details, e.g. image relay to the camera or image sensor (G02B21/364 takes precedence; illumination details G02B21/06 and subgroups)} - G01J 2003/064: {Use of other elements for scan, e.g. mirror, fixed grating} - G01J 2003/104: {Monochromatic plural sources} - G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS - G01J: MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY (light sources F21, H01J, H01K, H05B; investigating properties of materials by optical means G01N) - G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q) ## Abstract An optical microscope according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a light source; a first scanner to scan a spot position of a light beam on a sample; an objective lens to focus the light beam deflected by the first scanner and cause the light beam to be made incident on the sample; a spectroscope including a slit on an incident side which an outgoing light emitted from an area on the sample onto which the light beam has been illuminated enters; a detector configured to detect an outgoing light from the spectroscope; and a first relay optical system including a first off-axis parabolic mirror that is arranged in an optical path from the first scanner to the objective lens and reflects the light beam deflected by the first scanner and a second off-axis parabolic mirror that reflects the light beam reflected in the first off-axis parabolic mirror. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An optical microscope comprising: a light source configured to generate a light beam; a first scanner configured to deflect the light beam and scan a spot position of the light beam on a sample; an objective lens configured to focus the light beam deflected by the first scanner and cause the light beam to be made incident on the sample; a spectroscope including a slit on an incident side which an outgoing light emitted from an area on the sample onto which the light beam has been illuminated enters; a two-dimensional array photodetector including light-receiving pixels arranged in an array, the two-dimensional array photodetector detecting an outgoing light from the spectroscope; and a first relay optical system including a first off-axis parabolic mirror and a second off-axis parabolic mirror, the first off-axis parabolic mirror being arranged in an optical path from the first scanner to the objective lens and reflecting the light beam deflected by the first scanner, and the second off-axis parabolic mirror reflecting the light beam reflected in the first off-axis parabolic mirror, wherein a second direction that corresponds to a longitudinal direction of the slit is along a direction that corresponds to a geometric symmetry axis of the first off-axis parabolic mirror. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The optical microscope according to claim 1, wherein geometric symmetry axes of paraboloids of the first off-axis parabolic mirror and the second off-axis parabolic mirror are arranged to be parallel to each other and the paraboloids are arranged to face in directions opposite to each other. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The optical microscope according to claim 1, wherein a focal length of the first off-axis parabolic mirror is equal to a focal length of the second off-axis parabolic mirror. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The optical microscope according to claim 1, wherein when a distance from a focal point of the light beam between the first off-axis parabolic mirror and the second off-axis parabolic mirror to the first off-axis parabolic mirror is denoted by L2 and a distance from the focal point to the second off-axis parabolic mirror is denoted by L3, a ratio of L2 to L3 is equal to a ratio of the focal length of the first off-axis parabolic mirror to the focal length of the second off-axis parabolic mirror. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The optical microscope according to claim 4, wherein, when a distance from the first scanner to the first off-axis parabolic mirror is denoted by L1 and a distance from the second off-axis parabolic mirror to an entrance pupil of the objective lens is denoted by L4, L1=L2 and L3=L4 are satisfied. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The optical microscope according to claim 1, wherein the first relay optical system further comprises: a first correcting lens having a positive power provided between the first off-axis parabolic mirror and a focal point of the light beam; and a second correcting lens having a positive power provided between the focal point and the second off-axis parabolic mirror. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The optical microscope according to claim 6, wherein, when a distance from the first correcting lens to the focal point is denoted by L5 and a distance from the focal point to the second correcting lens is denoted by L6, L5=L6 is satisfied. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The optical microscope according to claim 1, further comprising a focus optical system configured to focus the outgoing light descanned by the first scanner on the slit of the spectroscope, wherein the focus optical system comprises: a first concave mirror configured to reflect the outgoing light; and a first convex mirror configured to reflect the outgoing light reflected in the first concave mirror. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The optical microscope according to claim 8, wherein the first concave mirror and the first convex mirror are spherical mirrors whose curvature radii are substantially equal to each other. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The optical microscope according to claim 8, wherein an image plane of the sample imaged by the focus optical system is inclined with respect to an incident plane of the slit. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The optical microscope according to claim 8, wherein a line that passes a center of curvature of the first concave mirror and a center of curvature of the first convex mirror is inclined from a reference axis of the outgoing light that enters the first concave mirror. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The optical microscope according to claim 1, further comprising: a second scanner that is provided in an optical path from the light source to the first scanner, deflects the light beam, and scans the spot position of the light beam on the sample; and a beam splitter that is provided in an optical path between the first scanner and the second scanner and separates the outgoing light emitted from the sample toward the spectroscope from the light beam emitted from the second scanner toward the first scanner, wherein the first scanner scans the spot position in a first direction that corresponds to a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the slit of the spectroscope, and the second scanner scans the spot position in a second direction that corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the slit. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The optical microscope according to claim 12, further comprising a second relay optical system arranged in an optical path between the second scanner and the first scanner, wherein the second relay optical system comprises: a second concave mirror configured to reflect a light beam from the second scanner; a second convex mirror configured to reflect the light beam reflected in the second concave mirror; a third convex mirror configured to reflect the light beam reflected in the second convex mirror; and a third concave mirror configured to reflect the light beam reflected in the third convex mirror, and the second concave mirror and the second convex mirror are arranged to be symmetrical with the third concave mirror and the third convex mirror with respect to an intermediate image plane which is between the second convex mirror and the third convex mirror. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The optical microscope according to claim 13, wherein the second concave mirror, the second convex mirror, the third concave mirror, and the third convex mirror are spherical mirrors whose curvature radii are substantially equal to one another. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The optical microscope according to claim 13, wherein a line that passes a center of curvature of the second concave mirror and a center of curvature of the second convex mirror is inclined from a reference axis of the light beam that enters the second concave mirror, and a line that passes a center of curvature of the third concave mirror and a center of curvature of the third convex mirror is inclined from the reference axis of the light beam reflected in the third concave mirror. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The optical microscope according to claim 13, further comprising an optical member configured to shrink a cross-sectional shape of the light beam in the second scanner in the second direction. ### Claim 17 (depends on 12) The optical microscope according to claim 12, further comprising a second relay optical system arranged in an optical path between the second scanner and the first scanner, wherein the light source is capable of using the laser light beams having laser wavelengths different from each other by switching the laser light beams, the optical path of the laser light is provided with a beam expander configured to adjust the degree of focus or the degree of divergence, and the second relay optical system comprises: a first relay lens configured to refract the light beam from the second scanner; a second relay lens configured to refract the light beam from the first relay lens to obtain a collimated light beam, the second relay lens causing the collimated light beam to be made incident on the first scanner; and a diaphragm arranged between the first relay lens and the second relay lens. ### Claim 18 (depends on 12) The optical microscope according to claim 12, further comprising a third scanner that is provided just before the first scanner and scans the spot position of the light beam on the sample in the second direction, wherein the third scanner scans the light beam in the second direction depending on the angle of the first scanner so as to cancel a change in the spot position that occurs by distortion aberration of the first relay optical system. ### Claim 19 (depends on 12) The optical microscope according to claim 12, further comprising a processor configured to correct distortion aberration that occurs in the first relay optical system, wherein spots of the light beam on the sample are extended in a line form along the second direction, a plurality of pixels that detect the outgoing light from the linear area are arranged in the two-dimensional array photodetector, and one-dimensional measurement data detected by the plurality of pixels is interpolated, whereby distortion aberration is corrected. ### Claim 20 A spectroscopic measurement method for performing spectroscopic measurement by performing the following processing of: causing a light beam from a light source to be deflected by a first scanner; causing the light beam from the first scanner to be made incident on an objective lens via a first relay optical system; focusing the light beam by the objective lens and illuminating a sample with the light beam; collecting an outgoing light emitted from the sample by the objective lens; dispersing the outgoing light from the objective lens by a spectroscope; and detecting the outgoing light dispersed by the spectroscope, wherein the first relay optical system comprises a first off-axis parabolic mirror that is arranged in an optical path from the first scanner to the objective lens and reflects the light beam deflected by the first scanner and a second off-axis parabolic mirror that reflects the light beam reflected in the first off-axis parabolic mirror, wherein a second direction that corresponds to a longitudinal direction of the slit is along a direction that corresponds to a geometric symmetry axis of the first off-axis parabolic mirror.