Scanning beam laser microscope with wide range of magnification

Abstract

A new confocal scanning beam laser microscope or imaging system is disclosed which has a very wide range of magnification, which allows a small area of a specimen to be imaged at submicron resolution at high magnification, and a large area of the specimen, up to several centimeters in size, at lower resolution. The optical arrangement of a confocal scanning beam laser microscope is used to produce high resolution images of a small area of the specimen, using a microscope objective that is not telecentric. A telecentric laser scan lens is interchanged with the optical subassembly of the microscope comprised of the microscope objective and unitary telescope above it, such that the scanning beam now passes through the telecentric laser scan lens to produce lower resolution images of a much larger area of the specimen, and the imaging system acts as a confocal scanning beam macroscope. Several different embodiments are disclosed, with contrast mechanisms that include reflected light, fluorescence, photoluminescence, and optical beam induced current. A method for parfocalizing a microscope objective and a laser scan lens for use in the imaging system is also disclosed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.