Confocal microscope
US6188514A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 4, 1998 |
| Grant date | Feb 13, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 4, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B21/0072
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention relates to a confocal microscope which has high resolving power and a great focal depth and is capable of observing a sample in real time, so that a fine stereoscopic structure of a highly integrated IC or the like can be inspected, and provides a confocal microscope in which a pinhole substrate 2 having a plurality of pinholes, located at a position of an image formed by an objective 4, is illuminated by light coming from a light source 1 to focus light passing through pinhole substrate 2 onto a sample 6 by objective 4 so that an image is formed thereon, light reflected at sample 6 is again focused onto pinhole substrate 2 through objective 4 to form an image thereon, light passing through pinhole substrate 2 is focused by a relay lens 7 or the like to re-form an image in the form of a sample image, and sample 6 is scanned with light by high-speed rotation of pinhole substrate 2 to obtain a reconstructed image of sample 6, wherein a longitudinal chromatic aberration-producing optical element 5 is located between pinhole substrate 2 and sample 6.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.