Imaging device, inspection device, and imaging method

An imaging method for photographing a subject with a camera and generating an image signal, the method comprising:

• a light application step of applying light to the subject with M types of light sources (where M is a natural number that satisfies 2≤M≤N) having emission spectral characteristics of having respective peaks in mutually different wavelength ranges within a visible light range and a near-infrared range;
• a photographing step of photographing imaging target areas at M locations of the subject through an optical filter configured to transmit light beams of the mutually different wavelength ranges from the M types of light sources and with the camera including an image sensor including a spectral optical filter of N bands (where N is a natural number greater than or equal to 3) with different spectral transmittance characteristics, wherein the image sensor has sensitivity to the visible light range and the near-infrared range;
• and
• a conversion step of generating image signals of M bands each having spectral sensitivity to a corresponding one of the mutually different wavelength ranges by separating an imaging signal captured by the image sensor into imaging signals of N bands and performing a matrix operation on the separated imaging signals of N bands,
• and further wherein:
• the M types of light sources individually illuminate the imaging target areas at M locations of the subject, and
• a direction in which light is applied to the subject that determines whether an image of a corresponding one of the imaging target areas at M locations captured by the camera is formed by transmitted light or reflected light and an emission intensity are individually selected for each of the imaging target.