Ultraviolet microscope

• US 5,481,401 A
• Filed: 08/15/1994
• Issued: 01/02/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Kashima, Shingo, Kita, Nobuhiro, Shimizu, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Dzierzynski, Paul M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Juba, Jr., John
• Application Number:
  US08/290,172
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• Field of Search: 359/350, 359/353, 359/354, 359/355, 359/363, 359/368, 359/369, 359/372, 359/385, 359/464, 359/618, 359/634, 359/629, 359/380, 250/365, 250/368, 250/372
• US Class Current: 359/353
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/16 adapted for ultraviolet illumination ; Fluorescence microscopes G02B21/0076 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/244 using image analysis techniques
• 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: G02B 21/365 Control or image processing arrangements for digital or video microscopes G02B21/361, G02B21/362 take precedence

Abstract

Light from a mercury lamp is focused by an objective lens system and is incident on a specimen to be examined. A focusing optical path of light reflected by the specimen is split into an optical path of an ultraviolet ray and an optical path of visible light by a dichroic mirror having wavelength selectivity. The ultraviolet ray is guided to an ultraviolet CCD camera. The ultraviolet CCD camera supplies a monochrome picture signal to a monochrome display through a first picture processor. On the other hand, the visible light is guided to a color CCD camera. The color CCD camera supplies a color picture signal to a color display through a second picture processor. Therefore, an ultraviolet picture of the specimen is displayed on the monochrome display at a high resolving power and a large magnification. At the same time, a color picture of the specimen is displayed on the color display.

Claims

1. An ultraviolet microscope comprising:

a stage for holding a specimen to be examined;

light source means for emitting light having a wavelength range from a visible range to a near-ultraviolet range;

an optical lens system including an illumination lens system for illuminating the specimen held on said stage with light emitted from said light source means and an image forming lens system having an objective lens system for focusing an enlarged optical image of the specimen by light from the specimen, at least said illumination lens system and said objective lens system being made of an optical material which can transmit light having at least a wavelength range from the visible range to the near ultraviolet range and which can correct a chromatic aberration of an image position and a chromatic aberration of a magnification with respect to the light having the wavelength range;

first observing means for observing at least an ultraviolet image of the specimen;

second observing means for observing at least a visible image of the specimen; and

wherein the image forming lens system has a plurality of said objective lens systems and a plurality of enlargement lens systems, and further comprising controller means for determining and selecting a combination of said objective lens systems and said enlargement lens systems having a highest numerical aperture from among a plurality of combinations having the same total magnification.

2. A microscope according to claim 1, further comprising means for splitting the optical image of the specimen to be formed by said objective lens system into an ultraviolet image and a visible image prior to observations by said first and second observing means.

3. A microscope according to claim 2, wherein said first and second observing means comprise variable magnification lens systems, respectively, having means for correcting a chromatic aberration of an image position and a chromatic aberration of a magnification of said variable magnification system of said first observing means for at least light in a near-ultraviolet range, and for correcting a chromatic aberration of an image position and a chromatic aberration of a magnification of said variable magnification lens system of said second observing means for at least light in a visible range.

4. A microscope according to claim 3, wherein said variable magnification lens system of said first observing means has a magnification different from that of said variable magnification lens system of said second observing means.

5. A microscope according to claim 3, wherein said variable magnification lens systems and said objective lens systems can be combined to variably set a total magnification of said ultraviolet microscope.

6. A microscope according to claim 2, wherein said first observing means comprises ultraviolet image pickup means for causing said first observing means to pickup at least an ultraviolet image and to convert the ultraviolet image into a picture signal, and means for receiving the picture signal from said ultraviolet image pickup means and visually displaying the ultraviolet image.

7. A microscope according to claim 2, wherein said first observing means comprises photographing means for photographing the optical image of the specimen, said photographing means using a photographic film sensitive to at least a near-ultraviolet range.

8. A microscope according to claim 2, wherein said second observing means comprises visible color image pickup means for picking up a visible image and converting the visible image into a color picture signal, and means for receiving the color picture signal from said visible color image pickup means and displaying a color visible image.

9. A microscope according to claim 2, wherein said second observing means comprises an eyepiece system.

10. A microscope according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of objective lens systems is an infinity objective lens system.

11. A microscope according to claim 1, wherein said image forming lens system includes an infinity objective lens system for diverging light from the specimen, and an infinity focusing lens system for focusing a divergent optical image of the specimen from said infinity objective lens system.

12. A microscope according to claim 1, wherein all lens systems of said image forming lens system are made of an optical material capable of transmitting light having at least a wavelength range from a visible range to a near-ultraviolet range, and chromatic aberrations of an image position and a magnification of each of said all lens systems are corrected with respect to the light having the wavelength range.

13. A microscope according to claim 12, further comprising means for selectively switching an optical path from said image forming lens system into said first observing means or said second observing means.

14. A microscope according to claim 13, wherein said first observing means comprises means for microspectroscopically observing a minute area of the specimen in the wavelength range from the visible range to the near-ultraviolet range.

15. A microscope according to claim 14, wherein said second observing means comprises image pickup means for picking up at least one of a visible image and an ultraviolet image and converting the picked image into a picture signal, and means for receiving the picture signal from said image pickup means and displaying a picture of the specimen.

16. A microscope according to claim 1, wherein said stage comprises means for finely moving the specimen two-dimensionally on an imaginary plane perpendicular to the optical axis of at least one of said plurality of objective lens systems, and means for finely displacing the specimen vertically with respect to said at least one of said objective lens systems such that a focal point of said at least one of said objective lens system is incident on the specimen.

17. An ultraviolet microscope comprising:

a stage for holding a specimen to be examined;

light source means for emitting light having a wavelength range from a visible range to a near-ultraviolet range;

an optical lens system including an illumination lens system for illuminating the specimen held on said stage with light emitted from said light source means and an image forming lens system having an objective lens system for focusing an enlarged optical image of the specimen by light from the object, at least said illumination lens system and said objective lens system being made of an optical material which can transmit light having at least a wavelength range from the visible range to the near-ultraviolet range and which can correct a chromatic aberration of an image position and a chromatic aberration of a magnification with respect to the light having the wavelength range;

means for splitting an optical image of the specimen to be focused by said objective lens system into a visible image and an ultraviolet image;

ultraviolet image pickup means for picking up the ultraviolet image and converting the ultraviolet image into a monochrome picture signal;

visible color image pickup means for picking up the visible image and converting the visible image into a color picture signal;

signal output superposing means for receiving the monochrome picture signal output from said ultraviolet image pickup means and the color picture signal output from said visible color image pickup means and superposing the monochrome picture signal and the color picture signal to output a superposed picture signal;

display means for displaying a pseudo color picture of the specimen on the basis of the superposed picture signal; and

means for translating and rotating at least one of said ultraviolet image pickup means and said visible color image pickup means within a plane perpendicular to an optical axis thereof.

18. A microscope according to claim 17, wherein said signal output superposing means comprises:

first storing means for storing a monochrome picture signal and outputting the monochrome picture signal;

second storing means for storing red, green, and blue picture signals contained in a color picture signal and outputting the red, green, and blue picture signals;

converting means for receiving the picture signal from said first storing means and the picture signals from said second storing means, converting the picture signals into red, green, and blue picture signal outputs, and supplying the red, green, and blue picture signal outputs to said display means; and

means for synchronizing output timings of said first and second storing means with input timings of said converting means and synchronizing output timings of said converting means with input timings of said display means.

19. An ultraviolet microscope comprising:

a stage for holding a specimen to be examined;

light source means for emitting light having a wavelength range from a visible range to a near-ultraviolet range;

an optical lens system including an illumination lens system for illuminating the specimen held on said stage with light emitted from said light source means and an image forming lens system having a plurality of objective lens systems and a plurality of enlargement lens systems for focusing an enlarged optical image of the specimen by light from the specimen, at least said illumination lens system and said objective lens systems being made of an optical material which can transmit light having at least a wavelength range from the visible range to the near-ultraviolet range and which can correct a chromatic aberration of an image position and a chromatic aberration of a magnification with respect to the light having the wavelength range;

first observing means for observing at least an ultraviolet image of the specimen;

second observing means for observing at least a visible image of the specimen,

said optical material comprising i-ray glass located in an optical path common to the first and second observing means, thereby permitting light having the wavelength range from the visible range to the near-ultraviolet range to be focused simultaneously; and

controller means for determining and selecting a combination of said objective lens systems and said enlargement lens systems having a highest numerical aperture from among a plurality of combinations having the same total magnification.