Micro-scanning multislit confocal image acquisition apparatus
US6288382A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 14, 1999 |
| Grant date | Sep 11, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 14, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B21/004
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The micro-scanning multislit confocal image acquisition apparatus of the present invention is a confocal image acquisition apparatus that comprises a nonscanning multislit confocal image acquisition system using a slit array instead of a pinhole array and a multislit-image microscanning mechanism for moving the image of the slit array in a small back and forth motion with respect to the object during each exposure of the two-dimensional arrayed photodetector in one complete measurement. Microscanning the image of the slit array with an amplitude equal to half the distance between adjacent slits increase the aperture ratio of the pixels to 100 percent, reducing blind regions to zero. As a result, this apparatus can measure a small object that cannot be measured by a conventional nonscanning confocal image acquisition apparatus because of blind regions. Microscanning the image of the slit array can also reduce the effect of speckles, another problem of a conventional nonscanning confocal image acquisition apparatus, by averaging the reflected light passing through each aperture of the slit array.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.