MICROSCOPE APPARATUS

• US 20120127569A1
• Filed: 12/29/2011
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: MIZUTA, Masahiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,922,886 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/385
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/086 for transillumination only
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/22 Stereoscopic arrangements

Abstract

A microscope apparatus including an illumination apparatus capable of, regardless of the observation magnification of an imaging optical system, filling the entrance pupil of the imaging optical system with illumination light, and suitably restricting the conjugate image of the entrance pupil of the imaging optical system by a light shielding element. A microscope apparatus is configured by including: an illumination apparatus which includes a surface light emitter (light guide plate) having a light emitting surface as a planar light-emitting region and irradiates a sample with light emitted from the light guide plate; an objective lens which condenses light from the sample; and an imaging optical system which includes a variable power lens group configured to form an image of the sample by changing the magnification of the image of the sample. The illumination apparatus includes a light shielding plate and a light diffusing element.

Claims

1. A microscope apparatus comprising:

an illumination apparatus which includes a surface light emitter having a light emitting surface as a planar light-emitting region and irradiates a sample with light emitted from the surface light emitter;

and

an imaging optical system which includes an objective lens configured to condense light from the sample, and a variable power lens group configured to form an image of the sample by changing the magnification of the image, and moves the position of the entrance pupil of the imaging optical system according to the change in the magnification,

wherein the illumination apparatus includes

a light diffusing element which is arranged on the sample side of the light emitting surface of the surface light emitter and diffuses the light emitted from the light emitting surface, and

wherein the surface light emitter is arranged in a common region of the entrance pupil image which is formed via the light diffusing element according to the change in the magnification.

2. The microscope apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, when the interval between the light shielding element and the light diffusing element is set as D [mm], a condition given by the following expression is satisfied:

D≦

34.

3. The microscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the parallel light transmittance and the haze value which are optical properties of the diffusion surface formed in the light diffusing element is respectively set as T [%] and H [%], conditions given by the following expressions are satisfied:

50<

T<

95 and 10<

H<

98.

4. The microscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the illumination apparatus includes a condenser lens which condenses the light emitted from the surface light emitter and irradiates the sample with the condensed light.

5. The microscope apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the condenser lens includes at least one surface formed in an aspheric shape.

6. The microscope apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the condenser lens is configured by a lens array in which a plurality of lenses arranged in an array form.

7. The microscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface light emitter is configured by including a light source, and a light guide plate which includes a light emitting surface and allows light emitted from the light source to be emitted from the light emitting surface.

8. The microscope apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the light source is configured by a plurality of white LEDs.

9. The microscope apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the light source is configured by a plurality of LEDs each having a different peak wavelength.

10. The microscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the surface light emitter and the condenser lens is configured to be movable along the optical axis.

11. The microscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the illumination apparatus is configured to be able to perform oblique illumination.

12. The microscope apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein the illumination apparatus further includes a light shielding element which is arranged at a position between the surface light emitter and the light diffusing element, the position being closer to the surface light emitter than the light diffusing element, and shields a part of a luminous flux emitted from the light emitting surface, and

wherein the light shielding element is arranged in a common region of a plurality of entrance pupil images formed via the light diffusing element according to the change in the magnification.