Light irradiation device and sample observation apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025035901-A1
Application number	US-202418911797-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 10, 2024
Priority date	May 27, 2020
Publication date	Jan 30, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A light irradiation device includes: a light source configured to output light having coherence; a light focusing element having a focusing axis and a non-focusing axis intersecting with the focusing axis and configured to focus the light on a focusing line so as to generate planar light; and an aperture mask having an opening part that limits a part of luminous fluxes of the light transmitted from the light source to the light focusing element. The opening part of the aperture mask has opening edges disposed to extend in a direction along the focusing axis of the light focusing element, and, in a case in which the opening edges are projected onto the focusing line, corresponding projected portions have linear spreads.

First claim

1 . A light irradiation device comprising:
a light source configured to output light having coherence; a light focusing lens having a focusing axis and a non-focusing axis intersecting with the focusing axis and configured to focus the light on a focusing line so as to generate planar light; and an aperture mask optically disposed between the light source and the light focusing lens, and having an opening part that limits a part of luminous flux of the light transmitted from the light source to the light focusing lens, wherein the opening part has an asymmetrical shape with respect to the focusing line, and wherein the opening part is defined by linear opening edges.

2 . The light irradiation device according to claim 1 , wherein the opening edges define shapes protruding to an outer side of the focusing line.

3 . The light irradiation device according to claim 1 , wherein the opening part has a hexagonal shape.

4 . The light irradiation device according to any one of claim 1 , wherein the light source is a light source that outputs laser light as the light.

5 . A sample observation apparatus comprising:
the light irradiation device according to claim 1 ; and a detector configured to detect observation light generated in a sample in accordance with irradiation of the planar light from the light irradiation device.

Assignees

• Hamamatsu Photonics Kk

Inventors

• Kobayashi Masanori
• Yamamoto Satoshi

Classifications

• G01N2201/06113

  Coherent sources; lasers · CPC title

• G01N21/6456

  Spatial resolved fluorescence measurements; Imaging · CPC title

• G02B21/367

  providing an output produced by processing a plurality of individual source images, e.g. image tiling, montage, composite images, depth sectioning, image comparison · CPC title

• G02B27/0966

  Cylindrical lenses (cylindrical lenses per se G02B3/06) · CPC title

• G02B27/0988

  Diaphragms, spatial filters, masks for removing or filtering a part of the beam · CPC title