Optical microscope which has optical modulation elements

Abstract

An optical microscope is provided with an aperture element 13 and an optical modulation element 14 that creates an image having the detecting sensitivity of the phase contrast imaging technique while simultaneously realizing an image having the three-dimensional sense provided by the modulation contrast imaging technique. There are four regions (two of which may have the same transmittance value and be contiguous in portions of the optical modulation element), are provided on a single optical modulation element 14, these regions including a first light absorbing region 14a having transmittance Ta, a second light absorbing region 14b having transmittance Tb and positioned adjacent to the first light absorbing region, a first light transmitting region 14c having a transmittance Tc and positioned adjacent to the first light absorbing region 14a, and a second light transmitting region 14d having a transmittance Td, wherein Ta is greater than Tb and less than Tc, Ta is less than Td, Tc is greater than 0.5, and Td is greater than 0.5.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.