Optical device with controllable deflection element for vibration compensation

• US 8,000,008 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2008
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Leica Instruments Singapore Pte Ltd (Danaher Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Leica Instruments Singapore Pte Ltd (Danaher Corporation)
• Inventors: Sander, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Lavarias; Arnel C
• Application Number:
  US12/113,237
• Publication Number:
  US 20080278781A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,202 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 359/556
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/22 Stereoscopic arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0833 the reflecting element being a micromechanical device, e.g. a MEMS mirror, DMD G02B26/0825 takes precedence; micromechanical devices in general B81B

Abstract

An optical device, in particular a microscope (1), that includes a beam path in which is arranged at least one deflection element (5, 6a to 6f) for deflecting the beam path, at least one vibration sensor (34) being arranged in or on the optical device; at least one of the deflection elements (5, 6a to 6f) including a mirror having a controllably deformable mirror surface (50); and a control unit (32) being provided that, as a function of the output signal of the vibration sensor (34), applies control to the at least one deflection element (5, 6a to 6f) in order to adjust the mirror surface (50) in such a way that vibrations of the optical device are compensated for by a correspondingly opposite-phase adjustment of the mirror surface (50).

Claims

1. An optical device comprising:

a beam path;

a deflection element arranged in the beam path for deflecting the beam path, the deflection element including a mirror having a controllably deformable mirror surface;

a vibration sensor arranged in or on the optical device, the vibration sensor generating at least one output signal corresponding to vibrations of the optical device; and

a control unit connected to the vibration sensor and the deflection element, the control unit receiving the output signal and applying control to the deflection element as a function of the at least one output signal from the vibration sensor, wherein the control unit adjusts the mirror surface such that vibrations of the optical device are compensated for by a correspondingly opposite-phase adjustment of the mirror surface;

wherein the deformable mirror surface of the deflection element is embodied as a micromirror array having a plurality of individually controllable micromirrors, wherein the spatial orientation of each of the plurality of micromirrors is adjustable;

wherein the optical device is a microscope comprising a principal objective that defines an observation beam path along an optical axis, wherein the observation beam path is the beam path of the optical device, and the deflection element deflects the observation beam path proceeding from the principal objective;

wherein the control unit adjusts the mirror surface such that vibrations of the microscope are compensated for by a correspondingly opposite-phase adjustment of the mirror surface in such a way that vibrations of the microscope are compensated for by a correspondingly opposite-phase deflection of a microscope image

wherein the control unit adjusts the mirror surface such that vibrations of the microscope in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the principal objective are compensated for by tilting individual micromirrors in the micromirror array about at least one of two mutually perpendicular tilt axes;

wherein the control unit adjusts the mirror surface such that vibrations of the microscope in the direction of the optical axis of the principal objective are compensated for by a spherical or aspherical, non-planar orientation of the micromirrors of the micromirror array.

2. The optical device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one output signal includes three separate output signals respectively corresponding to vibrations along each of three orthogonal spatial directions X, Y, and Z.