Method for generating a universal pinhole pattern for use in confocal microscopes

Pinhole disk that can be used as a filter disk in transmitted light mode, particularly in confocal microscopes, and consists of an optically transparent material, having an inner hole with a fixed outside radius rmax and inside radius rmin, whereby the optically transparent material is provided with a non-transparent layer at least in a large region, and this region is provided with a pattern of transparent pinholes, wherein the arrangement of these pinholes is generated according to the following rule:

• a. The disk is divided into n circular rings of equal thickness, having the radii r1, r2 . . . , rn, with a constant radial distance Δr,
• b. a straight line that proceeds from the disk origin intersects all the circular rings at the angle α0,
• c. the first pinholes are placed at every intersection of the concentric circles with the straight line,
• d. the angle of the next pinholes for each circle is calculated from the sum of the last angle and a summand dα(ri) typical for the circle radius, where the angle dα(ri)=D2/(Δr×ri) is calculated in radians, causing all the angle positions of the pinholes to be calculated according to the formula α(ri, j)=α0+j×dα(ri), and only angles between 0 and 2 π being taken into consideration, where the following applies:
• i=number of radii,
• D=distance between two pinholes on the same radius,
• j=number of pinholes on a circular ring.