Correction device for an optical arrangement and confocal microscope with such a device

• US 20070253046A1
• Filed: 06/29/2007
• Published: 11/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: CARL Zeiss Microimaging GmbH (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Inventors: Steinert, Joerg, Wald, Matthias, Pergande, Saskia
• Granted Patent: US 7,692,879 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/810
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/0052 Optical details of the image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/0072 details concerning resolution or correction, including general design of CSOM objectives
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0875 by means of one or more refracting elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0068 having means for controlling the degree of correction, e.g. using phase modulators, movable elements controlling the phase of light using moving or deformable elements G02B26/06
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 7/004 Manual alignment, e.g. micromanipulators

Abstract

A correction device for an imaging optical arrangement exhibiting a light path (1), in particular for a microscope, that exhibits at least one plane-parallel transparent plate (9), which is held in a mounting plate in the image beam path (1) and is propelable around at least one axle in a tipping and/or a swiveling motion, in order in adjust a definite parallel misalignment of the beams in the image beam path (1) by a change in the tipping situation of the plate (9). A confocal microscope with such a correction device exhibits a confocal screen (4), which illustrates a specimen mark (10), whereby the plane-parallel plate (9) is placed in front of the detector unit (2) in the light path (1), in order to center the illustration of the aperture diaphragm on the detector unit.

Claims

1. Correction device for a microscope having a beam path, comprising:

at least one plane-parallel transparent plate, wherein the at least one plane-parallel transparent plate has at least one of a tilting and swiveling movement around at least two axes,

at least one mounting plate in the image beam path, wherein the at least one mounting plate holds a corresponding plane-parallel transparent plate in the image beam path and moves the plane-parallel transparent plate in at least one of a tilting movement and a swiveling around at least two axes, in order to adjust a constant parallel misalignment (dx, dy) of the beams in the light path by change of the tilting situation of the plane-parallel transparent plate.

2. Device according to claim 1, further comprising a servo unit (C), which records at least one operating parameter of the microscope and which adjusts the tilting situation to be dependent of the value of the operating parameter.

3. Device according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic control loop (C) that uses the tilting situation of the plane-parallel transparent plate as a correcting variable.

4. Device according to claim 1, wherein at least one plane-parallel transparent plate comprises two sub panels and is made with materials of different dispersion, in order to compensate color transverse errors in the light path.

5. Confocal microscope having a beam path and comprising:

a confocal slit,

a detector unit following the confocal slit, and

a correction device for focusing a selected specimen field on the confocal slit, the correction device including at least one plane-parallel transparent plate, wherein the at least one plane-parallel transparent plate has at least one of a tilting and swiveling movement around at least two axes,

wherein the at least one plane-parallel transparent plate is placed first in the light path of the detector unit, in order to center the image of the selected specimen field on one of the detector unit and an image of the confocal slit on the detector unit.

6. Microscope according to claim 5, wherein the detector unit covers a locally resolved detector.

7. Microscope according to claim 5, further comprising changeable or adjustable elements in the light path, and

a servo unit (C), which records at least one operating parameter of the confocal microscope and which adjusts the tilting situation to be dependent of the value of the operating parameter, wherein the servo unit (C) records a configuration of the changeable or adjustable elements as operating parameters.

8. Microscope according to claim 7, wherein the light path guides radiation of different wavelengths and the servo unit (C) records the wavelength in the light path as an operating parameter.

9. Microscope according to claim 5, further comprising an automatic control loop (C) that uses the tilting situation of the at least one plane-parallel transparent plate as a correcting variable, wherein the automatic control loop (C) maximizes the radiation intensity at the detector unit or minimizes an image misalignment, or both.

10. Microscope according to claim 5, further comprising a servo unit (C), which records at least one operating parameter of the optical arrangement and which adjusts the tilting situation to be dependent of the value of the operating parameter, and

wherein the confocal slit is designed as a slit diaphragm and the detector unit is designed as detector line and wherein the tilting situation is two-axle adjusted such that the image of a specimen line is centered on the slit diaphragm.

11. Microscope according to claim 5, further comprising a servo unit (C), which records at least one operating parameter of the optical arrangement and which adjusts the tilting situation to be dependent of the value of the operating parameter, and

wherein the confocal slit is designed as a slit diaphragm and the detector unit is designed as detector line and wherein the tilting situation is adjustable about two axes such that the image of the slit diaphragm is centered about two axes on the detector line.

12. Microscope according to claim 5 wherein the microscope has an excitation light path for the illumination of the selected specimen field, and wherein the at least one plane-parallel plate is included in the excitation light path.

13. Correction device for a microscope having a beam path, comprising:

at least two plane-parallel transparent plates, each of the plane parallel-plates being tiltable around one axis and

at least two mounting plates in the image beam path, wherein each mounting plate holds a corresponding plane-parallel transparent plate in the image beam path and moves the plane-parallel transparent plate in at least one of a tilting movement and a swiveling around at least one axis, in order to adjust a constant parallel misalignment (dx, dy) of the beams in the light path by change of the tilting situation of the plane-parallel transparent plate.

14. Device according to claim 13, further comprising a servo unit, which records at least one operating parameter of the microscope and which adjusts the tilting situation to be dependent of the value of the operating parameter.

15. Device according to claim 13, further comprising an automatic control loop that uses the tilting situation of the plane-parallel transparent plate as a correcting variable.

16. Device according to claim 13, wherein the plane-parallel transparent plates are independently movable and are made from materials of different dispersion, in order to adjust one of a color-independent and aimed color-dependent parallel misalignment.

17. Device according to claim 13, wherein at least one plane-parallel transparent plate comprises two sub panels and is made with materials of different dispersion, in order to compensate color transverse errors in the light path.

18. Confocal microscope having a beam path and comprising:

a confocal slit,

a detector unit following the confocal slit, and

a correction device for focusing a selected specimen field on the confocal slit, the correction device including at least two plane-parallel transparent plates, each of the plane parallel-plates being tiltable around one axis,

wherein the plane-parallel transparent plate is placed first in the light path of the detector unit, in order to center the image of the selected specimen field on one of the detector unit and an image of the confocal slit on the detector unit.

19. Microscope according to claim 18, wherein the detector unit covers a locally resolved detector.

20. Microscope according to claim 18, further comprising changeable or adjustable elements in the light path, and

a servo unit, which records at least one operating parameter of the confocal microscope and which adjusts the tilting situation to be dependent of the value of the operating parameter, wherein the servo unit records a configuration of the changeable or adjustable elements as operating parameters.

21. Microscope according to claim 20, wherein the light path guides radiation of different wavelengths and the servo unit records the wavelength in the light path as an operating parameter.

22. Microscope according to claim 18, further comprising further comprising an automatic control loop that uses the tilting situation of the plane-parallel transparent plate as a correcting variable, wherein the automatic control loop maximizes the radiation intensity at the detector unit or minimizes an image misalignment, or both.

23. Microscope according to claim 18, wherein two plane-parallel plates are provided between the specimen field and the confocal slit and two plane-parallel plates are provided between the confocal slit and the detector unit.

24. Microscope according to claim 18, wherein the microscope has an excitation light path for the illumination of the selected specimen field, and wherein the at least two plane-parallel plates are included in the excitation light path.