JP2001356273A - Confocal optical scanning probe device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain image having no image distortion by sampling of image by irregular interval pulses to nonlinear driving waveform. SOLUTION: A confocal optical scanning probe device is constituted of a probe 1 having a scanner, a controller 2 for driving the scanner, an optical unit 3, an imaging device 4 and a monitor 5. The imaging device 4 has a linear correction means for linearly correcting an image displayed in the monitor 5. The linear correction means is constituted by having a nonlinear drive signal generating means for generating linear correction drive signal, an irregular interval pulse generating means for generating the irregular interval pulse and an A/D converter which executes A/D conversion with the irregular interval pulse as a sampling clock. Thereby image having no image distortion can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a control apparatus which includes a separating means for separating at least a part of a return light from a test portion from an optical path of light from a light source. The present invention relates to a confocal optical scanning probe device capable of protecting a connected optical fiber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a confocal microscope of this type includes, for example, a probe having a scanner, a control device for driving the scanner, a light source for irradiating light to a portion to be inspected, and a probe from the light source. An optical fiber for guiding to the tip,
Focusing means for focusing light from the optical fiber on a portion to be detected and condensing light from the portion to be detected on the end face of the optical fiber, and a light source for at least a part of return light from the portion to be detected. There is known a device having a separating means for separating the light from the optical path, a detector for detecting the separated light, an imaging device for imaging a signal from the detector, and a monitor for displaying an image. (JP-A-9-230248).

The conventional confocal microscope is provided as a micro-machined small device.

[0004]

However, according to the above-mentioned conventional confocal microscope, as shown in FIG. 25 (a), when performing a raster scan by resonance drive, sampling is performed by using equally-spaced pulses. (Fig. 25
(B)), as shown in FIG. 25 (c), the display image becomes finer toward the edge, and becomes coarser toward the center, and the image may be distorted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is a confocal optical scanning probe capable of obtaining an image without image distortion by sampling an image with non-equidistant pulses for a non-linear driving waveform. It is intended to provide a device.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a confocal optical scanning probe apparatus comprising: a probe having a scanner driven by a non-linear driving signal; a controller for driving the scanner;
A light source for irradiating light to the test portion, an optical fiber for guiding light from the light source to the tip of the probe, and light from the test portion to focus light from the optical fiber on the test portion; Focusing means for condensing light on the end face of the optical fiber, separating means for separating at least a part of the return light from the test portion from the optical path of the light from the light source, and a detector for detecting the separated light A confocal optical scanning probe device having an imaging device for displaying an image on a display means for imaging a signal from the detector, wherein the imaging device linearly corrects an image displayed on the display means. Correction means, wherein the linear correction means includes a non-linear drive signal generation means for generating the non-linear drive signal, a non-equally-spaced pulse generation means for generating non-equally-spaced pulses, and A D constituted by including an A / D converter for converting.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 21 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a confocal optical scanning probe device, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a confocal optical scanning probe device, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an optical unit in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an imaging device in FIG.
5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method of correcting image distortion by the image forming apparatus of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a first flowchart showing a flow of a line interpolation process by the image forming apparatus of FIG. 4, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a first flowchart showing a flow of automatic luminance value adjustment (AGC) processing by the imaging device of FIG. 4, and FIG. 9 is a second flowchart showing a flow of line interpolation processing by the imaging device of FIG. Automatic brightness value adjustment AG
C) A second flowchart showing the flow of the processing, FIG. 10 is a third flowchart showing the flow of the automatic brightness value adjustment AGC) processing by the imaging device of FIG. 4, and FIG. 11 is an automatic brightness adjustment by the imaging device of FIG. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control circuit in the control device of FIG. 2, and FIG. 13 is a first timing chart for explaining the operation of the control circuit of FIG. Chart, Figure 1
4 is a second timing chart illustrating the operation of the control circuit of FIG. 12, FIG. 15 is a third timing chart illustrating the operation of the control circuit of FIG. 12, and FIG. 16 illustrates the operation of the control circuit of FIG. First flowchart, FIG. 17 is a second flowchart for explaining the operation of the control circuit of FIG. 12, FIG. 18 is a sectional view showing the tip of the probe of FIG. 1, and FIG. 19 shows the structure of the scanner of the probe of FIG. Sectional view shown,
FIG. 20 is a plan view showing the structure of the scanner shown in FIG.
20 is a plan view showing the detailed structure of the scanner shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, the confocal optical scanning probe device includes a probe 1 having a scanner, a control device 2 for driving the scanner, and a light source for supplying light to the probe 1 to convert an optical image from the probe 1 into an optical image. An optical unit 3 for detecting and converting the signals from the optical unit 3, an imaging device 4 for imaging the signals from the optical unit 3, a monitor 5 for displaying an image from the imaging device 4, and a driving waveform for driving a scanner And an external clock generator 7 for generating a reference clock.

The probe 1 is electrically connected to the control device 2 via a signal line 1a and optically connected to the optical unit 3 via an optical fiber 1b. The control device 2
It is electrically connected to the imaging device 4 via the signal line 4b.

The optical unit 3 is electrically connected to the imaging device 4 via a signal line 4a. Imaging device 4
Is electrically connected to the monitor 5 via a signal line 4d. Further, an external clock generator 7 is electrically connected to the imaging device 4 via a signal line 4e.

The details of the confocal optical scanning probe device having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

The probe 1 is electrically and detachably connected to a connector 11 of the control device 2 via a signal line 1a.
Further, the connector 11 of the control device 2 is connected by the optical fiber 1b.
The connector 17 of the optical unit 3 is optically and detachably connected via the.

The optical unit 3 includes a laser diode (hereinafter, referred to as “LD”) 15 as a light source and a photomultiplier (hereinafter, referred to as “PMT”) unit 16.
And a four-terminal coupler 8. Also, the optical unit 3
Have connectors 17, 18 and 19
Is arranged.

In this optical unit 3, the four-terminal coupler 8 has four ends 8a, 8b, 8c and 8d, and the end 8a is optically connected to the optical fiber 1b.
b is optically connected to the LD 15. Also, end 8
c is terminated by an optical fiber termination 8h, and the end 8d is
Optically connected to the MT unit 16. End 8
a, 8d are respectively branched into ends 8b,
Light transmitted to the end portions 8a and 8d is transmitted to the end portions 8a and 8d.

The PMT unit 16 includes a signal line 16
b, it is electrically connected to the connector 18. P
The MT unit 16 is electrically connected to a connector 19 via signal lines 16c and 16d.

Further, the connector 1 of the PMT unit 16
9, drive power sources 21 and 22 are connected to cables 21a and 22a.
Are electrically connected to each other.

In the control device 2, the control circuit 9 is electrically connected to the connector 13 via the signal line 9a.
The control circuit 9 is electrically connected to the connector 11 via the signal line 9b. The control circuit 9 takes in a scanner drive signal input from the connector 13 via the signal line 9a, amplifies the signal, and outputs the amplified signal to the connector 11 via the signal line 9b.

The imaging device 4 is a device for forming an imaging signal, and includes a connector 24, a connector 25 and a connector 26. The monitor 5 is electrically connected to the connector 25 of the connector 25 via the signal line 4d. The imaging device 4 includes a connector 26 and a signal line 4c.
And a connector 13 to electrically connect to the control device 2 so that signals can be transmitted to each other. Further, the connector 26 of the imaging device 4 is connected to the connector 26 via a signal line 4e.
An external clock generator 7 for generating a clock serving as a reference for a drive waveform for driving the scanner is electrically connected.

The connector 24 of the imaging device 4 includes
The PMT unit 16 of the optical unit 3 is electrically connected via the signal line 4a, the connector 18, and the signal line 16b.

Next, the LD 9 and P in the optical unit 3 are
The MT unit 16 will be described with reference to FIGS.

It has already been described that the optical unit 3 includes the LD 15 and the PMT unit 16. Where P
The MT unit 16 includes a connector 161, a photomultiplier tube (PMT) 162, and a head amplifier 1
63. The PMT 162 is an element that converts an optical signal into an electric signal, and is configured to be able to input the converted electric signal to the head amplifier 163.
Head amplifier 163 amplifies the electric signal from PMT 162 and outputs it to connector 18.

In such an optical unit 3, the LD
The laser beam generated at 15 is applied to the end 8 as shown in FIG.
a, the fiber coupler 8, the end 8b, the connector 11, and the optical fiber 1b.
The subject can be optically scanned by a scanner (described later).

An optical signal scanned by the scanner in the probe 1 and reflected from the subject is reflected by the optical fiber lb and the connector 1.
1. The light is transmitted to the photomultiplier tube (PMT) 162 via the end 8b, the fiber coupler 8, the end 8d, and the connector 161 (see FIG. 3). PMT16
2 photoelectrically converts the optical signal into an electric signal and transmits the photoelectrically converted electric signal to the head amplifier 163 via the signal line 162a. Head amplifier 163 amplifies the input signal. The amplified electric signal is provided to the imaging device 4 via the signal line 16b, the connector 18, the signal line 4a, and the connector 24.

The signal line 4a is a double line, of which the signal 4a-1 transmits the electric signal via the signal line 16c-1 while the signal line 4a-2 transmits the electric signal. -2 through the photomultiplier tube (P
(MT) 162 to control the sensitivity of the imaging device 4
(Details will be described later).

The configuration of the imaging device 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

The imaging device 4 includes an A / D converter 40
, Frame memory 41, main memory 42, CP
U43, a data bus 46, an I / O port 47, and a hard disk device 50.
7a and a control line 47b.

The operation of the imaging device 4 will be described. A /
The D converter 40 receives an electric signal from the PMT unit 16 in the optical unit 3 via a signal line 40a, A / D converts the electric signal, and outputs a digital signal.

This digital signal is stored as data in the frame memory 41 one line after another.

The data stored in the frame memory 41 is written by the CPU 43 to the main memory 42 via the I / O port 47. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the CPU 43 controls the control line 47a, the I / O port 47,
A data address is designated to the frame memory 41 via the control line 47b via the path 48a of the address bus 45.

The data at the specified address is
/ O port 47 and paths 49a, 4 of data bus 46
At 9b, control is performed to store the data in the main memory 42. On the other hand, the data stored in the main memory 42 is read by the CPU 43 when the address of the data specified by the path 48 a of the address bus 45 is
Control is performed via the control line 47b so that the data is transferred to the I / O port 47 at 9b and 49c.

Then, an analog signal is converted by a DA converter (not shown) in the I / O port 47, and a signal line 47c
Is sent to the monitor 5 via the PC and displayed as an image.

Note that storing data in the frame memory 41 and reading data from the frame memory 41 are as follows.
Executed in parallel. Further, the CPU 43 performs control and arithmetic processing in the imaging device 4 other than the data transfer.

A method of correcting image distortion by the imaging device 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

Of the two-dimensional scanning of the scanner, scanning in the X direction is performed by resonance driving using a sine wave having a frequency of about several kHz. On the other hand, scanning in the Y direction has a frequency of several Hz to several 1
It is performed by linear driving of about 0 Hz.

As described with reference to FIG. 25 of the related art, since the X direction is driven by a non-linear sine wave (see FIG. 25 (a)), A is determined based on equally-spaced pulses (see FIG. 25 (b)).
When sampling is performed by the / D converter 40, FIG.
As shown in the X-axis of (a), the vicinity of the center in the X direction is coarse, and the sampling is made finer toward the end, and when imaged on the monitor 5, as shown in FIG. In the meantime, the central portion expands and collapses toward the edge, resulting in a distorted image.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
An image without distortion as shown in FIG. 5 (c) is sampled by non-equidistant pulses as shown in FIG. 5 (b) so that pixels in the direction are at equal intervals (see FIG. 5 (a)). And

For this purpose, first, non-equidistant pulse waveforms along with waveform data in the X direction are created and stored in the hard disk device 50 in the imaging device 4 in advance as the same file based on the time axis. . However, at this time, the actual scan position B in the X direction has a 90 ° phase delay with respect to the drive waveform A as shown in FIG. Create and save the pulse waveform with a delay of 90 °. Also, in the case of the present embodiment, the image in the X direction is displayed only when the sine wave rises.

The number p of non-equidistant pulses is p = fclk / fx, where the frequency in the X direction is fx and the clock frequency of the external clock generator 7 is fclk. Further, assuming that an arbitrary time is t, an arbitrary scanning position in the X direction is X, and a number of pixels in the X direction is Xmax, t = (p / 2
π) × cos ⁻¹ (1-2X / (Xmax−1)). In this equation, the interval of the non-equidistant pulse is set by the value of each time t when X is incremented by 1 from 0 to Xmax-1 to create a non-equidistant pulse waveform.

As described above, by driving the scanner with the driving waveform A and sampling with non-equidistant pulses, an image without image distortion and without phase shift due to resonance driving can be obtained.

The method of line interpolation by the imaging device 4 is as follows.
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 4, data A / D converted by the A / D converter 40 is stored in the frame memory 41 one line after another. Instead of reading out all the stored data by the CPU 43,
For example, data is read out by thinning out one line for every two lines. The data read out by thinning is I / O port 4
7. The data is written to the main memory 42 via the data bus 46. The written data is read from the main memory 42 by the CPU 43.

At this time, the same line is read out a plurality of times by the number of times thinned out as described above, and via the I / O port 47,
The image is output to the monitor 5 as an image.

The flow of displaying the same line a plurality of times by thinning out the above lines will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S1, the number of display pixels X in the X direction is set.
The maximum and the number of display lines Ymax in the Y direction are stored in the hard disk device 50 in the imaging device 4 in advance. Next, the ratio of the number of lines to be thinned out in step S2 and the multiple k of the number of times of copying are set. Then, the scan is opened in step S3, the line interpolation process, that is, the scanning including the line thinning and the copy process is executed in step S4, and the scan is continued unless the scan is finished in step S5.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of scanning including line interpolation in step S4. First, an index i representing the number of lines of an image displayed in step S11 is initialized to i = 0. Next,
In step S12, the index i is smaller than Ymax (i <Ym
ax). If this determination is true, an index j representing the number of lines copied in step S13
Is initialized to j = 0. Next, in step S14, the CPU 4 reads out the data of the i-th line from the frame memory 41, and writes it in the main memory 42 in step S15.
3 controls.

Next, in step S16, it is determined whether or not the index j is j <k. If this determination is true, the data of the i-th line written in the main memory 42 is read out in step S17, and this data is read as i + j in step S18.
The data of the line is displayed on the monitor 5 via the I / O port 47, the index j is incremented in step S19, the process returns to step S14, and it is determined whether or not j <k in step S16. Repeat until all copied lines have been displayed.

When j <k is false in step S16, that is, when the data of the i-th line is copied and displayed by the amount set by k, i + k is stored in i by i ← i + k in step S20, and i Returning to the determination of whether or not <Ymax, the display of the data on the (i + k) th line and the data obtained by copying the data are repeated.

If it is determined in step S12 that i <Ymax is false, that is, if the display of one frame of data has been completed, the subroutine is terminated, and it is determined whether or not the scan is terminated. Overwriting the image of the frame with the above flow is repeated. In this way, instead of displaying all the data stored in the frame memory 41, the data is thinned out and then copied and displayed for the thinned out amount.

Next, automatic brightness value adjustment by the imaging device 4
(Hereinafter abbreviated as AGC) method is shown in FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

When AGC is performed, the maximum luminance value Imax and the minimum luminance value Imin for one frame of image data are stored in the CPU 43.
And a preset maximum luminance value I0max
The CPU 43 controls the sensitivity of the PMT 162 to be adjusted so that the brightness becomes the minimum value I0min.

The flow of AGC will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S21, a predetermined maximum luminance value I0max and minimum luminance value I0min, the number of pixels Xmax in the X direction, and the number of lines Ymax in the Y direction are set in the hard disk device 50 in advance. Then, a scan is started in step S22, an AGC process is executed in step S23,
In step S24, the AGC process is performed unless the scanning is completed.

The detailed flow of the AGC process in step S23 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. AGC
Is a keyboard (not shown) connectable to the imaging device 4,
Or ON / OFF by input device such as mouse not shown
Switching is possible, and in step S31, it is OFF in the initial state. In step S32, the AGC O
N, and when AGC is turned on, the data for one frame stored in the frame memory 41 is read out by the CPU 43 in step S33, and the I / O port 4
7. The data is written to the main memory 42 via the data bus 46.

Then, from this data, the CPU 43 calculates the maximum value Imax of the luminance by a comparison operation one pixel at a time in step S34 (details will be described later).

Next, in step S35, Imax is compared with a preset maximum value I0max of luminance, and Ima
If the determination of whether x <I0max is true, step S3
I / O port 4 to increase the sensitivity of PMT 162 at 6.
7, PMT via signal line 47e, connector 25, signal line 4a-2, connector 18, and signal line 16c-2.
162 is controlled by the CPU 43. At this time, PMT1
When the sensitivity of the PMT 162 increases, the PMT 162 is determined in step S37.
(The luminance level of the background of the image to be displayed) increases, that is, the minimum luminance value increases.

On the other hand, if Imax <I0max is false, then in step S38, CPM is set to decrease the sensitivity of the PMT 162.
The PU 43 controls. When the sensitivity of PMT162 decreases,
In step S39, the offset of the PMT 162 decreases.
That is, the minimum luminance value decreases.

The offset of the PMT 162 is further changed according to the minimum luminance value changed in steps S36 to S39.

Next, the CPU 43 reads the data of the next one frame whose luminance minimum value has changed in step S40 from the frame memory 41, writes it to the main memory 42, and reads it from the main memory 42. From this data,
In step S41, the CPU 43 calculates a minimum luminance value Imin by comparison operation one pixel at a time (details will be described later).

If Imin <I0min is determined to be true by comparing Imin calculated in step S42 with I0min set in advance, the offset of PMT 162 is increased in step S43, that is, I / O is increased so as to increase Imin.
Port 47, signal line 47e, connector 25, signal line 4a
The CPU 43 controls the PMT 162 via the connector -2, the connector 18, and the signal line 16c-2.
The background of the image displayed in step 4 is darkened.

On the other hand, if Imin <I0min is false, the CPU 43 controls the PMT 162 to lower the offset of the PMT 162 in step S45, that is, lowers Imin, and brightens the background of the image displayed in step S46.

As described above, the previously set I0ma
The sensitivity and offset of the PMT 162 are adjusted by the CPU 43 so that Imax and Imin approach x and I0min.
Controls.

The method of calculating Imax will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S51, an index m representing the number of the pixel in the X direction, an index n representing the number of the line in the Y direction, and the maximum luminance value Imax during the calculation are all initialized to zero. N in step S52
Is determined to have reached the maximum line Ymax in the Y direction. If not, it is determined in step S53 whether or not m has reached the maximum pixel Xmax in the X direction. Array p representing the luminance value of the pixel
[m] [n] is compared with Imax. If p [m] [n]> Imax, the value of p [m] [n] is stored in Imax in step S55, and Imax is updated. In step S56, m is incremented and the process returns to step S52.

If m reaches the maximum pixel Xmax in the X direction in step S53, n is incremented in step S57, m is reset (m = 0) in step S58, and the process returns to step S52. Also, n is Y in step S52.
If the maximum line Ymax in the direction has been reached, the process ends.

As described above, the incrementing of the indexes m and n is repeated, and the process is executed for all the pixels to determine Imax.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, the method of calculating Imin is p [m] [n]> I in the flowchart of FIG.
The determination as to whether or not the value is max is replaced with p [m] [n] <Imin. First, initialization is performed in step S60, and an array p [m] [n] representing the luminance value of each pixel is compared with Imin in step S61. , P [m]
If [n] <Imin, p [m] is set to Imin in step S62.
The value of [n] is stored and Imin is updated to determine Imin.

The control circuit 9 in the control device 2 is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 12, the control circuit 9 applies the drive waveform from the imaging device 4 to the signal line 4a-1, the connector 13 and the signal line 71a to form an amplifier including an amplifier. Input to the circuit 71. The amplifier circuit 71 amplifies the drive waveform to a level at which the scanner in the probe 1 can be driven, and sends the signal to the scanner in the probe 1 via the signal line 71b, the connector 11, and the signal line 1a-1 of the signal line 1a. Output. Further, a signal corresponding to the displacement of the scanner is output from the scanner in the probe 1,
The signal is input to the position detection circuit 72 via the signal line 1a-2 of the signal lines 1a, the connector 11, and the signal line 72a.
The position detection circuit 72 determines, based on the left end of the scanning position in the X direction (the position C in FIG. 5A) as a reference, the most displaced position, that is, the right end of the scanning position in the X direction (FIG.
(D position of (a)), the highest voltage value is output. As described above, the output voltage corresponding to the position of the scanner is a sine wave because of the resonance drive by the sine wave.

The above-mentioned right end (the position of D in FIG. 5A)
In order to synchronize the phase with the right end of the display image on the monitor 5, a phase synchronization circuit 73 shown in FIG.
Is configured. The output waveform of the position detection circuit 72 input to the phase synchronization circuit 73 is input to the comparator 74 via the signal line 72b. The comparator 74 compares the output waveform of the position detection circuit 72 with “H” when the output waveform is larger than the voltage value VVref, and with “L” when the output waveform is smaller than the voltage value Vref, which is input via the signal line 74a. The signal is output to the delay circuit 75 via the signal line 74b. The delay circuit 75 outputs the waveform simply delayed by a predetermined time τ to the signal line 7.
The signal is output to the phase comparator 76 via 5a.

The phase comparator 76, the integrator 77, the voltage controlled oscillator (hereinafter abbreviated as VCO) 78, and the frequency divider 79 form a closed-loop phase-locked loop (hereinafter abbreviated as PLL). The waveform output from the delay circuit 75 is synchronized with a horizontal synchronization pulse (hereinafter abbreviated as Hsync) for synchronizing and displaying the waveform on the monitor 5 line by line.

The phase comparator 76 compares the waveform from the delay circuit 75 with Hsync from the signal line 79b, which is the feedback of the PLL, and outputs a negative pulse if the phase of Hsync is advanced, and a positive pulse if it is delayed. The pulse is output to the integrator 77 via the signal line 76a.

The integrator 77 integrates the positive or negative pulse output from the phase comparator 76. That is, when a negative pulse is input, the output voltage is decreased, and when a positive pulse is input, the output voltage is increased. This output voltage is output to the VCO 78 via the signal line 77a. VC
O78 outputs a pulse having a frequency corresponding to the level of the input voltage. That is, if the output voltage of the integrator 77 decreases, the frequency decreases, and if the output voltage of the integrator 77 increases, the frequency increases. The pulse output from the VCO 78 is input to the frequency divider 79 via the signal line 78a.

The frequency divider 79 divides the pulse output from the VCO 78 to a predetermined frequency, inverts the pulse, and
Convert to ratio and output Hsync. This Hsync is signal line 7
9a, output to the imaging device 4 via the connector 13 and output to the phase comparator 76 via the signal line 79b and feedback are repeated.

The flow of the above phase synchronization will be described with reference to the timing charts of FIGS. FIG. 14 shows a state where there is no advance or delay of the phase described above. First,
In the comparator 74, the output waveform of the position detection circuit 72 having the maximum value of Vpmax and a preset reference voltage
Compared with Vref (see FIG. 13A), if it is larger than Vref, "L" is output, and if it is smaller, "H" is output (FIG. 13).
(B)).

Next, the falling pulse waveform is applied to the delay circuit 7
5, where the position of the scanner is delayed by a predetermined time τ for making the position of the scanner coincide with the right end of the display image on the monitor 5 in the X direction (see FIG. 13C). The falling pulse waveform from the delay circuit 75 is input to the phase comparator 76, where the phase is compared with the feedback waveform (see FIG. 13D) from the frequency divider 79.

In the case of FIG. 13, since there is no advance or delay of the phase, the phase comparator 76 outputs zero (FIG. 13).
(E)). When this is input to the integrator 77, a constant output value Vso when the input is zero is output (FIG. 13 (f)).
reference). When this is input to the VCO 78, a pulse having a constant frequency is always output based on a reference clock (see FIG. 13 (g)) from the external clock 7 (see FIG. 13 (h)).

When this is input to the frequency divider 79, the frequency is further divided to an appropriate frequency, inverted to positive / negative, converted to an appropriate duty ratio, output as Hsync, and output to the phase comparator 7
6 is repeated (FIG. 13 (i)).
reference).

FIG. 14 illustrates the case where the phase of Hsync, which is the feedback from frequency divider 79, is advanced with respect to the falling pulse output from delay circuit 75.

The output from the position detection circuit 72 (FIG. 14)
14A), the output of the comparator 74 (FIG. 14B).
The output of the delay circuit 75 (see FIG. 14C)
It is the same as FIG.

When the phase of Hsync is advanced (FIG. 14)
(See (d)), the phase dilator 76 outputs a negative pulse (see FIG. 14 (e)). Accordingly, the output voltage of the integrator 77 decreases (see FIG. 14F). Accordingly, the frequency of the pulse output from the VCO 78 with respect to the reference clock (see FIG. 14 (g)) decreases (see FIG. 14 (h)).

In FIG. 14 (h), although the pulse interval is extremely large in order to imagine that the output frequency of the VCO 78 has decreased, the frequency actually decreases only slightly.

According to the output frequency of VCO 78, the falling pulse of Hsync output from frequency divider 79 is
As shown in (i), the falling pulse (see FIG. 14 (c)) of the delay circuit 75 has the same phase at the position A.

FIG. 15 illustrates a case where the phase of Hsync, which is the feedback from the frequency divider 79, is delayed with respect to the falling pulse output from the delay circuit 42.

The output from the position detection circuit 72 (FIG. 15)
(See FIG. 15A), the output of the comparator 74 (FIG. 15B)
The output of the delay circuit 75 (see FIG. 15C)
This is the same as FIGS.

When the phase of Hsync is delayed (FIG. 15)
(See (d)), the phase comparator 76 outputs a positive pulse (see FIG. 15E). In response, the output voltage of the integrator 77 increases (see FIG. 15 (f)). Accordingly, the frequency of the pulse output from the VCO 78 with respect to the reference clock (see FIG. 15 (g)) increases (see FIG. 15 (h)).

In FIG. 15 (h), the pulse interval is extremely narrow in order to imagine that the output frequency of the VCO 78 has risen. However, the frequency actually rises only slightly. According to the output frequency of the VCO 78, the falling pulse of Hsync output from the frequency divider 79 is, as shown in FIG. 15 (i), a falling pulse of the delay circuit 75 (see FIG. 15 (c)) and B At the position of.

As described above, the flow of FIGS.
6 and the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 16, after scanning is started in step S71, step S7 is performed.
The phase synchronization processing is executed in 2 and the phase synchronization processing is repeated unless the scan is finished in step S73.

As shown in FIG. 17, the flow of the phase synchronization processing is as follows. In step S81, the scanner position data Vpos from the probe 1 is input to the comparator 74, and the process proceeds to step S81.
In step 82, Vpos and Vref are compared. If Vpos> Vrer, "L" is determined in step S83, otherwise, step S8 is performed.
In step 4, "H" is output to the delay circuit 75. This is delayed by the time τ in step S85 and output to the phase comparator 76. In step S86, this is compared with the phase of Hsync fed back from the frequency divider 79, and the advance or delay of the phase is determined in steps S87 and S88. If the phase is advanced, a negative pulse is determined in step S89. In step S90, a positive pulse is output to the integrator 77 as it is if there is no advance or delay. The output voltage of the integrator 77 decreases when a negative pulse is input in step S91, increases when a positive pulse is input in step S92, and outputs a constant voltage to the VCO 78 otherwise. In step S93, the VCO 78 sets the integrator 7
If the output voltage of the integrator 77 decreases according to the fluctuation of the output voltage of the integrator 77, the frequency of the output pulse decreases. If the output voltage of the integrator 77 increases, the frequency of the output pulse increases.
7 is constant, the frequency of the output pulse is maintained and input to the frequency divider 79.

Then, in step S94, the frequency divider 79 divides the frequency to an optimum frequency, further performs inversion and duty conversion, and repeatedly outputs it as Hsync to the phase comparator 76 and feeds it back.

Next, the tip 200 of the probe 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The outer shape of the probe 1 is cylindrical as shown in FIG. The outside of the probe 1
It is constituted by a tube 224 and a coil pipe 225 housed therein. In addition, coil pipe 2
25, an optical fiber 217 and an electric cable 2
18 is connected. At the tip, a coil pipe stop 2
26, the tip of the coil pipe 225 is bonded. The inside of the coil pipe stopper 226 is filled with an insulating material 244 as shown by a shaded portion in the figure. Further, a guide pipe 227 is bonded to the coil pipe stopper 226, and the tube 224 is fixed thereto by thread winding bonding 228 as shown in the figure.

The structure and manufacturing method of the scanning mirror 232 will be described later. The scanning mirror 232 is disposed at a position shown in the figure via a cover glass 240 and a lens 237 as shown in the figure, and includes a wiring 233, a substrate 234, a flexible substrate 235, an electric cable 218, and a signal line 1a.
Is electrically connected to the control circuit 9 in the control device 2 via The conductive electric wire extending from the electric cable 218 to the flexible board 255 is covered with an insulating tube 236 as shown in the figure.

The scanning mirror 232 is fixed to a mirror glass base 231, an interval tube 230, and a ferrule 229 for fixedly holding the distal end of the optical fiber 217. However, the tip of the tapered ferrule 229, which is polished integrally with the scanning mirror 232 and the optical fiber 217, does not contact, and has a slight gap.

The lens 237 is adhered and fixed to the lens frame 238, and the mirror base 23 is inserted through the spacing tube 239.
Fixed to 1. Further, the lens frame 238 is also fixed to the guide pipe 227. Further, the lens frame 2
38 is also fixed to the guide pipe 227. As shown in FIG. 18B, the spacing tube 239 has a cross-sectional structure along the line AA.

The lens 237 is provided with a mirror deposition section 245 near the center.

The tip cover 241 is fixed to the lens frame 238 via the spacing tube 242, and the tip cover 241 is also adhesively fixed to the guide pipe 227. The cover glass 240 is fixed to the front cover 241. Further, the electric cable 218 has a GND line connected to the ground GND of the control device 2 via the signal line 1a, and this GND line and a conductive coil pipe 225 constituting the tip of the probe 1, Coil pipe stopper 226, flexible substrate 235, substrate 23
4. The spacing tube 230, the spacing tube 239, the lens frame 238, the tip cover 241, and the spacing tube 242 are welded at their respective contact portions, and all of them are electrically conductive. The gap between the tube 224 and the front cover 241 is filled with an adhesive 243.

As shown in FIG. 19, the scanning mirror 232 etches the silicon substrate 250 to form a concave portion 251. Also, the concave portion 248 and the through hole 247 are formed by etching from the back surface.
Plate 252 is adhered to a silicon substrate and is insulated from silicon substrate 250 by an oxide layer on the substrate. Further, after appropriately masking, a nitride film 253 is provided on the upper surface of the plate 252, and this is etched except for a portion required for the mirror portion 249. The mirror part 249 at this time
FIG. 20 is a view of the device viewed from above. The hatched portions in the figure are portions where no nitride film is provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 21, a conductive layer is formed thereon, and the electrodes 254a, 254 of the scan mirror are formed.
b, 254c, 254d, mirror 249, and wiring 25
3a, 253b, 253c, and 253d are manufactured. These electrodes 254a and 254b also serve as mirrors. Here, by performing appropriate etching, a portion not covered with the nitride film is removed. At this time, the hinge 25
By underetching from both sides of 6,257, only the chamber film portion remains, and as shown in FIG. 21, the center portion 255 can be rotated about this portion as an axis.
By applying sine waves whose phases are inverted to each other to the electrodes 254a and 254b, the G
A capacitor is formed with the ND section, and the mirror section 249 is driven to resonate in the X direction by electrostatic force. The capacitance generated here is transmitted to the position detection circuit 72 in the control device 2 via the electric cable 218 and the signal line 1a, and the position of the scanner shown in FIG. Generate data. A center hole 246 is provided at the center of the center portion 255. Also, the electrodes 253a, 253b, 253
c and 253d are connected to the connector 11 of the control device 2 via the electric cable 218 and the signal line 1a described above.

Next, the operation of the optical system of the confocal optical scanning probe device will be described. The laser light from the LD 15 is supplied to the connector 17, the optical fiber 3a, the connector 12, the optical fiber 8
e, the end 8a, the fiber coupler 8, the end 8c, the optical fiber 8g, the connector 6, and the optical fiber lb to the core of the optical fiber 217. The light from the core of the optical fiber 217 is transmitted through the through hole 24 of the silicon mirror 250.
7. Through the central hole 246 of the mirror part 249, the lens 2
Head to 37. This light is reflected by the mirror vapor deposition 245 on the surface of the lens 237, spreads toward the mirror portion 249 of the scanning mirror 232 while being spread, and is reflected thereby. Subsequently, the light is collected by the lens 237 and passes through the cover glass 240 to be focused. The reflected light from the focal point passes through the same optical path as the incident light in the opposite direction, is focused again by the core of the optical fiber 217, and is incident on it. At this time, the reflected light from other than the focal point 259 cannot pass through the same optical path as the incident light, and the optical fiber 217
The core acts as a small pinhole and has the same resolution as a confocal microscope.

In this embodiment, the image in the X direction is displayed only when the sine wave rises. However, the image may be displayed at both the rise and fall of the sine wave.

The optical fiber of the present embodiment may be a single mode fiber, a multimode fiber, or any other optical fiber capable of exhibiting a confocal effect.

In the present embodiment, the position of the scanner is detected based on the capacitance for driving the scanner to perform phase synchronization. An ultra-small light receiving element may be provided at a position corresponding to the right end, and the phases may be synchronized by the timing at which the laser light hits the light receiving element by scanning.

Also, in the present embodiment, the phase of the sampling pulse with respect to the driving waveform by the resonance driving is set to 90 in advance.
Although it is synchronized in a shifted state, the number of pulses of the external clock until the phase is shifted by 90 ° is stored in the hard disk in advance, and a counter for counting the number of pulses of the external clock is provided in the imaging device. Control may be performed so that sampling is started from the time when the number of pulses is reached.

In this embodiment, the AGC is kept on until the scanning is completed. However, only when the AGC is necessary, the AGC is turned on by an external input device such as a keyboard or a mouse which can be connected to the imaging apparatus. The AGC may be turned on, and the AGC may be turned off when not needed.

In the present embodiment, the thinning of the number of lines in the line interpolation and the multiple of the copy are stored in the hard disk in advance. However, if necessary, an external input such as a keyboard or a mouse which can be connected to the imaging device can be used. The apparatus may be capable of changing the multiple of the thinning and copying of the number of lines.

In the present embodiment, the control device and the imaging device are separately configured, but they may be integrated and integrated. Further, the optical unit may be integrally configured. Further, at least two of the control device, the imaging device, and the optical unit may be integrated.

Further, in consideration of the difference (hysteresis) between the rising and falling characteristics of the sine wave, this scanner takes a solid arrow from the left to the right in the figure as shown in FIG. Although the image is displayed only at the rising time of the sine wave, it is displayed only at the falling time (ie, FIG. 24).
The image of (a) (dotted arrow) may be displayed. Alternatively, a hysteresis characteristic correction unit (not shown) for correcting the hysteresis characteristic may be provided in the imaging device 4 so as to display both the rise and fall of the sine wave.

[Second Embodiment] FIGS. 22 and 23 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 22 is a view for explaining an example of the configuration of the tip of the probe of the confocal optical scanning probe device. FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a main part for describing a configuration example of the distal end portion of the probe of FIG.

The distal end portion 300 of the probe 1A includes a scanning unit 305 as optical scanning means, a distal end cover unit 306, and an optical frame 307. Optical frame 307
Is fixed to the distal end of the outer tube 308 of the probe 1A.

The scanning unit 305 has a base 309 fixed to the optical frame 307. The base 309 is
The weight is set to be heavier than that of a lens frame 314 and an objective lens 315 as a focusing unit, which will be described later, so as not to move easily.

The tip of the optical fiber 302 is fixed to the base 309.

On both sides of the base 309, thin plates 310 are adhered. A piezoelectric element 304 polarized backward in thickness is bonded to the thin plate 310. The piezoelectric element 304 includes an electric cable 30 for driving the piezoelectric element 304.
3 are connected. The electric cable 303 passes through the inside of the distal end portion 300 of the probe 1A, is connected to the signal line 1a in FIG. 2, and is connected to the control device 2 via the connector 11.

The tip of the thin plate 310 is fixed to the intermediate member 311. The intermediate member 311 has two parallel thin plates 3
12a and 312b are fixed. Thin plate 312a, 3
Piezoelectric elements 313a and 313b are bonded to 12b.

A lens frame 314 is fixed to the ends of the thin plates 312a and 312b, and a ferrule 316 for fixedly holding the objective lens 315 and the end of the optical fiber 302 is fixed to the lens frame 314. After the optical fiber 302 is fixed to the ferrule 316, the tip 300 of the probe 1A is polished integrally with the ferrule 316, and an anti-reflection film is further provided. The piezoelectric elements 313a and 313b are connected to the signal line 1a of FIG. 2 via the electric cable 303, and are connected to the control circuit 15 via the connector 11.

A small displacement sensor 350 is adhered and fixed to the lens frame 314, and is electrically connected to the control device 2 via the electric cable 80 and the signal line 1a-2. The displacement sensor 350 indicates the position of the scanner in the X direction,
Based on the left end of the display image on the monitor 5 as a reference, a voltage that maximizes at the farthest position, that is, the position at the right end of the display image, is output and transmitted to the control circuit 15 in the control device 2.

The front cover unit 306 includes a cover holder 317 and a cover glass 318 fixed to the cover holder 317. The cover holder 317 is
07 is fixed to the tip.

With such a structure, the distal end portion 300 of the probe 1A is densely opened.

The operation of the confocal optical scanning probe device using such a probe 1A will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 and FIGS.

The laser beam from the LD 15 is transmitted to the connector 1
7, optical fiber 3a, connector 12, optical fiber 8e,
End 8a, fiber coupler 8, end 8c, optical fiber 8
g, connector 11, probe 1 via optical fiber 1b
A is transmitted to the tip 300 of the probe A, and the tip 3 of the probe 1A is
The light is emitted toward the objective lens 315 from the distal end surface of the object 00.

In this case, the tip of the optical fiber 302 is fixed to the ferrule 316 and polished integrally, and the polished end face is provided with an antireflection film. The reflected light is kept very small.

The electric cable 303 has a ground line connected to the ground of the control device 2 via the signal line 1a.
The ground line and the optical frame 307, the base 309, and the cover holder 317, which are conductive portions in the distal end portion 300 of the probe 1A, are welded at their respective contact portions, and all of them are electrically conductive. .

Light emitted from the core 321 on the end face of the optical fiber 302 is condensed by the objective lens 315, passes through the cover glass 318, and forms a focal point 323 inside the observation object 322.

The reflected light from a position other than the focal point 323 passes through the same optical path as the incident light in the opposite direction, and hardly enters the core 321 of the optical fiber 302 again. The core 321 functions as a small pinhole, and has a resolution equivalent to that of a confocal microscope. When the control circuit 9 in the control device 2 is operated in this state, the drive signal from the control circuit 9 becomes
The piezoelectric element 304 and the piezoelectric element 313 are connected via the signal line 9b, the connector 11, the signal line 1a, and the electric cable 303.
a, 313b. Thereby, the piezoelectric element 30
4 and the piezoelectric elements 313a and 313b expand and contract according to the voltage. Then, since the piezoelectric element 304 is attached to the thin plate 310 and the piezoelectric elements 313a and 313b are attached to the thin plates 312a and 312b, respectively, the thin plate 310 and the thin plate 312 are attached.
a, 312b.

The thin plate 310 and the thin plates 312a, 31
2b is different in length in the longitudinal direction in order to prevent interference with each other due to scanning.

More specifically, the piezoelectric elements 313a, 313b
To the lens frame 3
14 vibrates. As a result, the objective lens 315 and the tip of the optical fiber 302 move, and the position of the focal point 323 of the laser beam is scanned in the X direction (see FIG. 22). In this case, when driven at the resonance frequency of the scanner system, a large displacement can be obtained.

On the other hand, the piezoelectric element 30 is controlled by the control circuit 15.
When 4 is expanded or contracted, the position of the focal point 323 of the laser beam is scanned in the Y direction perpendicular to the X direction. In this case, the focal point 323 is raster-scanned by setting the frequency of the vibration in the Y direction sufficiently lower than the scan frequency in the X direction. Accordingly, the reflected light from each point on the scanning surface 324 is transmitted by the optical fiber 302.

By using such a probe 1A in place of the first embodiment, a confocal optical scanning probe device can be obtained.

(Supplementary Note) A probe having a scanner capable of outputting drive position information, a control device for driving the scanner, a light source for irradiating light to a portion to be inspected, an optical fiber for guiding light from the light source to a probe tip, and the light Focusing means for focusing light from a fiber on the test section and condensing the light from the test section on the end face of the optical fiber, and at least a part of the return light from the test section from the light source. A confocal device including a separating unit that separates the separated light from an optical path, a detector that detects the separated light, and an imaging device that images a signal from the detector line by line and displays an image on a display unit. In the optical scanning probe device, the control device has a phase synchronization circuit that synchronizes a phase of a drive signal with the line, and the scanner has a position detection unit that detects a position of the scanner. The path includes a position detection detection circuit that converts the position information from the position detection means into a voltage, a comparator that compares an output of the position detection circuit with a predetermined voltage value, and outputs a predetermined voltage value. A delay circuit that delays by an amount of time, a phase comparator that compares the output of the delay circuit with the phase of the horizontal synchronization signal and outputs a phase shift amount, an integrator that integrates the output of the phase comparator, Confocal light, comprising: a voltage-controlled oscillator that outputs a pulse having a frequency corresponding to the output voltage of the device; and a frequency divider that divides the output of the voltage-controlled oscillator and feeds it back to the phase comparator. Scanning Probe Device (Background and Purpose of Supplementary Note 1) In the above-mentioned prior art, it is shown that the position of the scanner can be independently monitored by a closed loop control method. However, the closed-loop circuit configuration is only a displacement detector that detects the position of the scanner, and a phase comparator that compares the phase of the drive waveform and the output of the displacement detector. Not stated.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a confocal optical scanning probe device capable of displaying a stable image.

[0128] 2. A probe having a scanner, a control device for driving the scanner, a light source for irradiating light to an object to be measured, an optical fiber for guiding light from the light source to the tip of the probe, and a light for receiving light from the optical fiber. Focusing means for focusing on the detection part and condensing the light from the part to be detected on the end face of the optical fiber, and separating means for separating at least a part of the return light from the part to be detected from the optical path of the light from the light source And a detector for detecting the separated light, and a confocal optical scanning probe device having an imaging device for imaging a signal from the detector and displaying an image on display means, wherein the imaging device is Brightness value control means for controlling the sensitivity of the detector to an optimum value, wherein the brightness value control means calculates a maximum brightness value and a minimum brightness value from image data imaged by the imaging device. Value calculation means, Detector control means for controlling the sensitivity of the detector so as to have a large luminance value and the minimum luminance value, wherein the detector control means controls the sensitivity of the detector to be equal to or less than the maximum luminance value. After that, the confocal optical scanning probe device is controlled so that the sensitivity of the detector is equal to or more than the minimum luminance value. (Background and Object of Additional Item 2) There is no description of automatic adjustment, and considerable skill was required to perform optimum sensitivity adjustment.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a confocal optical scanning probe device capable of automatically optimizing an image.

[0130] 3. A probe having a scanner, a control device for driving the scanner, a light source for irradiating light to an object to be measured, an optical fiber for guiding light from the light source to the tip of the probe, and a light for receiving light from the optical fiber. Focusing means for focusing on the detection part and condensing the light from the part to be detected on the end face of the optical fiber, and separating means for separating at least a part of the return light from the part to be detected from the optical path of the light from the light source And a detector that detects the separated light, and a confocal optical scanning probe device having an imaging device that images a signal from the detector and displays an image on a display unit, wherein the imaging device includes: A frame memory for storing the image as line data; and line interpolation means for interpolating the line data stored in the frame memory, wherein the interpolation means Thinning means for thinning out and reading the data at a ratio of 1 / integer; and copying means for copying the line data read by the thinning means a plurality of times, the number of lines of line data stored in the frame memory; The confocal optical scanning probe device is characterized in that the number of lines of the line data after being copied by the copying means is the same. (Background and Object of Appended Item 3) Since there is no description about interpolation and it is necessary to display all the scanned lines, the display speed is very slow. In addition, the display speed is low, so that an image having a lot of blur may be obtained.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a confocal optical scanning probe device capable of improving a frame rate.

4. A probe having a scanner, a control device for driving the scanner, a light source for irradiating light to an object to be measured, an optical fiber for guiding light from the light source to the tip of the probe, and a light for receiving light from the optical fiber. Focusing means for focusing on the detection part and condensing the light from the part to be detected on the end face of the optical fiber, and separating means for separating at least a part of the return light from the part to be detected from the optical path of the light from the light source A confocal light scanning probe device comprising: a detector for detecting the separated light; and an imaging device for A / D converting a signal from the detector to image and display the image on a display unit.
The imaging device may be configured to use the A / D for the non-linear driving waveform.
Display timing means for adjusting the phase of the sampling pulse for conversion to display an image is provided, and the display timing means generates the sampling pulse by shifting the phase of the sampling pulse by 90 ° with respect to the nonlinear drive waveform.

A confocal optical scanning probe device characterized in that:

(Background and Purpose of Supplementary Item 4) In the prior art, there is no consideration of the actual scanner position with respect to the resonance driving, and as shown in FIG. 24, the start position of each line of the display image is set at the left end (FIG. (A)), but in the center (FIG. 24 (b)).

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a confocal optical scanning probe device capable of correcting a phase of a display image.

[0136]

As described above, according to the present invention, an image free from image distortion can be obtained by sampling an image with non-equidistant pulses for a non-linear driving waveform.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a confocal optical scanning probe device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the confocal optical scanning probe device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the optical unit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the imaging device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method of correcting image distortion by the imaging device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a first flowchart showing the flow of a line interpolation process performed by the imaging device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a second flowchart showing the flow of a line interpolation process performed by the imaging device of FIG. 4;

8 is an automatic brightness value adjustment AG by the imaging device of FIG.
C) First flowchart showing the processing flow

9 is an automatic brightness value adjustment AG by the imaging apparatus of FIG.
C) Second flowchart showing the processing flow

10 is an automatic brightness value adjustment AG by the imaging device of FIG.
C) Third flowchart showing the processing flow

11 is an automatic brightness value adjustment AG by the imaging apparatus of FIG.
C) Fourth flowchart showing the processing flow

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit in the control device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 13 is a first timing chart illustrating the operation of the control circuit of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a second timing chart illustrating the operation of the control circuit of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a third timing chart illustrating the operation of the control circuit of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is a first flowchart illustrating the operation of the control circuit in FIG. 12;

FIG. 17 is a second flowchart illustrating the operation of the control circuit in FIG. 12;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing the tip of the probe of FIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view showing the structure of the scanner of the probe of FIG. 1;

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing the structure of the scanner shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a plan view showing the detailed structure of the scanner shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration example of a distal end portion of a probe of the confocal optical scanning probe device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

23 is a perspective view of a main part for describing a configuration example of a distal end portion of the probe in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining a problem of the related art.

FIG. 25 is a view for explaining sampling by equally spaced pulses in a raster scan by a conventional resonance drive.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1A Probe 2 Control device 3 Optical unit 4 Imaging device 5 Monitor 7 External clock generator 8 4 terminal coupler 9 Control circuit 11, 13, 17, 18, 19 Connector 15 LD 16 PMT unit 40 A / D converter 41 Frame memory 42 Main memory 43 CPU 45 Address bus 46 Data bus 47 I / O port 200, 300 Tip

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A probe having a scanner driven by a non-linear drive signal, a control device for driving the scanner, a light source for irradiating light to a portion to be inspected, and a light for guiding light from the light source to the tip of the probe A fiber; focusing means for focusing light from the optical fiber on a test portion; and focusing light from the test portion on an end face of the optical fiber; and at least one of return light from the test portion. A separating unit that separates a unit from an optical path of light from the light source, a detector that detects the separated light, and an imaging device that displays an image on a display unit that images a signal from the detector. A confocal optical scanning probe device, wherein the imaging device has linear correction means for linearly correcting an image displayed on the display means, and the linear correction means generates the non-linear drive signal. And the stage,
A confocal optical scanning probe device comprising: a non-equidistant pulse generating means for generating non-equidistant pulses; and an A / D converter for performing A / D conversion using the non-equidistant pulses as a sampling clock. .