Patent · US Expired

Confocal laser scanning microscope with dual mode waveguide

US5389783A · kind A · utility

6Cited by
2References
10Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 9, 1993
Grant dateFeb 14, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 9, 2013

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02B21/0056
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A confocal laser scanning differential interference microscope includes an illumination optical system for radiating a laser light spot onto an object, a focusing optical system for focusing light reflected by the object onto a detection surface, a detection optical system for detecting the reflected light focused on the detection surface, a scanning device for scanning the laser light spot relative to the object, and an optical element arranged between the focusing optical system and the detection optical system, and having a waveguide device for propagating the reflected light focused by the focusing optical system. The waveguide device has waveguides in at least two directions perpendicular to the optical axis of incident light. The waveguides constitute a double-mode transmission waveguide, which selects either of a combination of a 0th-order mode and a 1st-order mode and the 0th-order mode alone in each of the two directions of the reflected light from the object according to amplitude distributions of electric fields in the two directions of the incident light as waveguide modes in the two directions upon propagation of the incident light, and propagates light in the selected…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.