IMAGING APPARATUS AND MICROSCOPE

• US 20090201366A1
• Filed: 04/23/2009
• Published: 08/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Sase, Ichiro, Nihoshi, Toshiaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,098,279 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/79
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/361 Optical details, e.g. image relay to the camera or image sensor G02B21/364 takes precedence; illumination details G02B21/06 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/48 adapted for combination with other photographic or optical apparatus

Abstract

Providing an imaging apparatus and a microscope capable of taking two-dimensional images of a sample at a plurality of observation positions different in the optical axis direction at the same time. The apparatus includes an image-forming lens 15 that forms images of a sample 4 on a plurality of image-forming places; an optical-path-dividing member 17, 18, 19 that divides an optical path from the same area in a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the sample 4 so as to form the plurality of image-forming places; and an optical-path-length-changing member 27, 28, 29 that is provided on at least one optical path between the plurality of image-forming places and the imaging lens 15.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an image-forming lens that forms images of a sample on a plurality of image-forming places;

an optical-path-dividing member that divides an optical path from a plurality of observation positions of the sample different in a direction of an optical axis of the image-forming lens so as to form the plurality of image-forming places;

an optical-path-length-changing member that is provided on at least one optical path between the plurality of image-forming places and the imaging lens and changes optical path length of the light divided by the optical-path-dividing member; and

an imaging member that is provided on the plurality of image-forming places and makes it possible to take images of the sample divided by the optical-path-dividing member at the same time.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of the imaging member is one.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the imaging member forms images corresponding to the plurality of observation positions different in the optical axis direction on the imaging surface of the imaging member side by side.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the optical-path-dividing member includes a semi-transparent mirror that transmits light from the image-forming lens to form an image on a first image-forming position and reflects the light from the image-forming lens in a direction perpendicular to the transmission light and parallel to the imaging surface of the imaging member to form an image on a second image-forming position other than the first image-forming position, and a reflection mirror that reflects light reflected by the semi-transparent mirror in a direction to the second image-forming position of the imaging member, and

the optical-path-length-changing member is provided on at least one exit portion of the semi-transparent mirror and the reflection mirror.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the optical-path-dividing member includes a first semi-transparent mirror that transmits light from the image-forming lens to form an image on a first image-forming position of the imaging member and reflects the light from the image-forming lens in a direction perpendicular to the transmission light and parallel to the imaging surface of the imaging member to form an image on a second image-forming position of the imaging member other than the first image-forming position,

a second semi-transparent mirror that reflects light transmitted through the first semi-transparent mirror in a direction to the second image-forming position, and transmits the light transmitted through the first semi-transparent mirror in a direction parallel to the imaging surface of the imaging member to form an image on a third image-forming position of the imaging member other than the first and the second image-forming positions, and

a reflection mirror that reflects light transmitted through the second semi-transparent mirror in a direction to the third image-forming position of the imaging member, and

optical-path-length-changing members for leading light having different optical path length with each other to the imaging member being provided on at least two exit portion of the first semi-transparent mirror, the second semi-transparent mirror and the reflection mirror.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the optical-path-dividing member divides light forming an image by the image-forming lens into at least three optical paths in order to form images of the sample on at least three image-forming places of the imaging member.

7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the three optical paths divided by the optical-path-dividing member are come from three observation positions different in the optical axis direction, and in the three image-forming places formed on the imaging member, an intermediate observation position among the three observation positions forms an image at the center of the imaging surface of the imaging member, and light from an upper observation position and light from a lower observation position among the three observation positions are divided into both sides of the image-forming place of the intermediate observation position formed at the center of the imaging member.

8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the optical-path-length-changing member is a plurality of plane parallel plates having different thickness along the optical axis.

9. The imaging apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a changing member that is provided on each divided optical path and removably inserting a given plane parallel plate into the optical path.

10. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the optical-path-dividing member includes at least one semi-transparent mirror, and at least two image-forming places are formed on the imaging surface of the imaging member.

11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the at least one semi-transparent mirror has transmittance that makes light amount of each optical path divided by the optical-path-dividing member substantially uniform.

12. The imaging apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the at least one semi-transparent mirror is composed of a semi-transparent mirror that is provided on an exit optical path of the image-forming lens and has transmittance of substantially 30%, a semi-transparent mirror that is provided adjacent to the semi-transparent mirror having transmittance of substantially 30% and has transmittance of substantially 50%, and a total reflection mirror that is provided adjacent to the semi-transparent mirror having transmittance of substantially 50%.

13. A microscope equipped with the imaging apparatus according to claim 1.

14. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an image-forming lens that forms images of a sample on a plurality of image-forming places;

an optical-path-length-changing member that is provided on an optical path between the plurality of image-forming places and the image-forming lens to form the plurality of image-forming places, includes a plurality of optical elements each of which changes optical path length of the light from the image-forming lens different with each other, moves in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the image-forming lens, and selectively disposes the optical element on the optical axis; and

an imaging member that takes images of the sample.

15. The imaging apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the optical-path-length-changing member is a turret holding a plurality of optical elements.

16. An imaging apparatus comprising:

a semi-transparent mirror that divides an image of a sample into a plurality of directions;

a first optical-path-length-changing member having a first image-forming lens that one side of light divided by the semi-transparent mirror is incident thereon, forms an image of the sample on an image-forming place, and leads to any one of plurality of optical elements for changing optical path length of the light from the sample into a different length;

a second optical-path-length-changing member having a second image-forming lens that the other side of light divided by the semi-transparent mirror is incident thereon, forms an image of the sample on an image-forming place, and leads to any one of plurality of optical elements for changing optical path length of the light from the sample into a different length;

a first imaging member for taking an image of the sample that is formed by the first image-forming lens and changed the optical path thereof by the first optical-path-length-changing member; and

a second imaging member for taking an image of the sample that is formed by the second image-forming lens and changed the optical path thereof by the second optical-path-length-changing member.