Optical microscope, and autofocus device for optical microscope

Abstract

Provided is an optical microscope capable of maintaining an objective lens in a focus state without adversely affecting a captured image even when a substance with a weak emission is used as an observation target object. The optical microscope includes an observation optical system capable of capturing, with an image pickup device (10), an optical image of an observation target object (1) that has been obtained with an objective lens (5), and sending out the optical image as an image signal; and an autofocus device that adjusts a focal position of the objective lens based on autofocus light emitted from a focusing light source (11) so as to focus on the observation target object, wherein the autofocus light is emitted from the focusing light source during a non-capturing period during which the image pickup device is not capturing an image of the observation target object.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.