US 5,969,855 AGranted

Microscope apparatus

AssigneeOlympus Optical Co., Ltd.

InventorsHiroshi Ishiwata, Toyohiko Yatagai, Masahide Itoh

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Abstract

A microscope apparatus that has an electronic image pickup device arranged on an image surface of an imaging optical system, a component for separating light from a light source into two portions, a device for changing a phase difference between the two portions of light, a device for storing information on the images picked up by the image pickup device, and information processor for processing the information of images. The images are picked up by the electronic image pickup device as the phase difference is changed, and the information on the images is multiplied by a periodic function, as a weight function, which is given the phase difference as variable, and a resultant product is integrated so that a differential interference microscope apparatus capable of accurately obtaining a phase distribution of the object or a phase-contrast microscope apparatus capable of effectively enhancing a resolving power without lowering an image contrast is obtained.

Claims12

Dependent claims

A microscope apparatus comprising:

a light source;
an illumination optical system for introducing light from said light source to an object;
an imaging optical system for obtaining an image of the object;
means for separating the light from said light source into two portions, disposed in said illumination optical system;
and
means for superimposing said two portions of the light on one another, disposed in said imaging optical system;
wherein said microscope apparatus further comprises:
an electronic image pickup device arranged on an image surface of said imaging optical system;
means for changing a phase difference between said two portions of the light;
means for storing images picked up by said electronic image pickup device;
and
means for processing information on the images picked up by said electronic image pickup device;
wherein the images are picked up by said electronic image pickup device as the phase difference is changed, to be stored as picked-up image information, and said picked-up image information is subjected to an integration process, upon being multiplied by a periodic function, as a weight function, which is given the phase difference as a variable, to produce final process image information.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.