Microscope with reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9234845-B2
Application number	US-9076307-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 19, 2007
Priority date	Oct 19, 2006
Publication date	Jan 12, 2016
Grant date	Jan 12, 2016

Abstract

A microscope includes an objective lens, an imaging lens projecting light passing through the objective lens to form an image of a specimen, an image sensor located at an imaging position where the image of the specimen is formed, an illumination light source, and a reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system including a dichroic mirror introducing light from the illumination light source into an optical to illuminate the specimen with the light. The microscope further includes a relay optical system forming an intermediate image of the specimen between the objective lens and the imaging lens to relay it to the imaging lens. The dichroic mirror of the reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system is located between the relay optical system and a pupil conjugate position that is conjugate with a pupil position of the objective lens, formed between the relay optical system and the imaging lens.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A microscope comprising:
an objective lens;
an imaging lens projecting light passing through the objective lens to form an image of a specimen;
an image sensor located at an imaging position where the image of the specimen is formed by the imaging lens;
an illumination light source;
a reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system including a fluorescence cube to illuminate the specimen with light, the fluorescence cube having at least a dichroic mirror that introduces light from the illumination light source into an optical path on an objective lens side and a barrier filter provided separately from the dichroic mirror in the fluorescence cube for cutting off unwanted light from the specimen; and
a relay optical system arranged between the objective lens and imaging lens, the relay optical system forming an intermediate image of the specimen at a position inside the relay optical system and relaying the intermediate image to the imaging lens,
wherein the fluorescence cube of the reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system is located between the relay optical system and a pupil conjugate position that is conjugate with a pupil position of the objective lens and that is formed between the relay optical system and the imaging lens, and
wherein the barrier filter is located at the pupil conjugate position.

2. The microscope according to claim 1 , wherein a light beam from the specimen is nearly afocal at the pupil conjugate position.

3. The microscope according to claim 1 , wherein the imaging lens is constructed with a zoom optical system or a variable magnification optical system whose magnification is changed stepwise.

4. The microscope according to any one of claims 1 , 2 and 3 , satisfying the following condition:
0.6≦|β|≦1.5

where β is a pupil relay magnification of the relay optical system from the pupil position of the objective lens to the pupil conjugate position.

5. The microscope according to any one of claims 1 , 2 and 3 , satisfying the following condition:
β=1

where β is a pupil relay magnification of the relay optical system.

6. The microscope according to claim 1 , wherein a fly-eye lens is placed proximate to another pupil conjugate position that is conjugate with the pupil position of the objective lens and that is in the reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system.

7. The microscope according to claim 1 , wherein the illumination light source is constructed with a reflector light source, an LED light source, or a fiber light source.

8. The microscope according to claim 1 , having an integrator rod in the reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system.

9. The microscope according to claim 6 , wherein
the illumination light source is constructed with a reflector light source;
the reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system has a beam conversion optical system carrying out a preset conversion with respect to a light beam emitted from the reflector light source to make a parallel beam emerge and the fly-eye lens; and
the fly-eye lens includes a first lens array whose entrance end faces are provided with a plurality of convex surfaces and a second lens array whose exit end faces are provided with a plurality of convex surfaces, integrally or separately constructed, so that the parallel beam emerging from the beam conversion optical system is split into a plurality of beams and a plurality of light source images of the reflector light source are formed proximate to the exit end faces of the second lens array.

10. The microscope according to claim 9 , wherein
the reflector light source is constructed to make a convergent beam emerge therefrom so that a primary formation of a light source image is made, and
the beam conversion optical system is constructed with a collector lens that converts a light beam diverging from a position of the primary formation of the light source image into a parallel beam.

11. The microscope according to claim 9 , wherein
the reflector light source is constructed to make a parallel beam emerge therefrom, and
the beam conversion optical system is constructed with an afocal system that converts the parallel beam emerging from the reflector light source into a parallel beam having a diameter nearly equal to a diameter of the fly-eye lens.

12. The microscope according to claim 11 , wherein
the afocal system is constructed so that the parallel beam emerging from the reflector light source is condensed to make a primary formation of a light source image of the reflector light source inside the afocal system and then is converted into the parallel beam to emerge therefrom.

13. The microscope according to claim 6 , wherein
the illumination light source has a reflector light source that emits a convergent beam to make a primary formation of a light source image and a filter having an entrance end face at a position of the primary formation of the light source image;
the reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system has a collector lens that converts a divergent beam emerging from an exit end face of the fiber into a parallel beam and the fly-eye lens; and
the fly-eye lens includes a first lens array whose entrance end faces are provided with a plurality of convex surfaces and a second lens array whose exit end faces are provided with a plurality of convex surfaces, integrally or separately constructed, so that the parallel beam emerging from the collector lens is split into a plurality of beams and a plurality of light source images of the illumination light source are formed proximate to the exit end faces of the second lens array.

14. The microscope according to claim 6 , wherein
the illumination light source has a reflector light source that emits a parallel beam, a lens that condenses the parallel beam emitted from the reflector light source to make a primary formation of a light source image of the reflector light source, and a fiber having an entrance end face at a position of the primary formation of the light source image;
the reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system has a collector lens that converts a divergent beam emerging from an exit end face of the fiber into a parallel beam and the fly-eye lens; and
the fly-eye lens has a first lens array whose entrance end faces are provided with a plurality of convex surfaces and a second lens array whose exit end faces are provided with a plurality of convex surfaces, integrally or separately constructed, so that the parallel beam emerging from the collector lens is split into a plurality of beams and a plurality of light source images of the reflector light source are formed proximate to the exit end faces of the second lens array.

15. The microscope according to claim 6 , wherein
the illumination light source has a reflector light source that emits a convergent beam to make a primary formation of a light source image of the reflector light source and an integrator rod that has an entrance end face at a position of the primary formation of the light source image;
the reflecting fluorescence illumination optical system has a collector lens that converts a divergent beam emerging from an exit end face of the integrator rod into a parallel beam and the fly-eye lens; and
the fly-eye lens includes a first lens array whose entrance end faces are provided with a plurality of convex surfaces and a second lens array whose exit end faces are provided with a plurality of convex surfaces, integrally or separately constructed, so that the parallel beam emerging from the collector lens is split into a plurality of beams and

Assignees

• Kawasaki Kenji
• Shimada Yoshihiro
• Olympus Corp

Inventors

• Kawasaki Kenji
• Shimada Yoshihiro

Classifications

• G02B21/0076

  arrangements using fluorescence or luminescence · CPC title

• G02B13/0095

  Relay lenses or rod lenses (in instruments for viewing the inside of hollow bodies G02B23/2446) · CPC title

• G02B21/16

  adapted for ultraviolet illumination {; Fluorescence microscopes (G02B21/0076 takes precedence)} · 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

• G02B21/0032

  Optical details of illumination, e.g. light-sources, pinholes, beam splitters, slits, fibers (G02B21/0036 - G02B21/008; means for illumination of specimens in general G02B21/06) · CPC title