JP2000305021A - Confocal microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a confocal microscope by which the change of height information along an arbitrary measuring line is obtained and also a time required for measuring is made short. SOLUTION: The surface of a sample (w) is scanned with a laser beam emitted by a light source 10 by condensing on the surface by an objective lens 17 by passing through a polarizing beam splitter 12, a horizontal deflecting device 14a and a perpendicular deflecting device 14b or the like. The laser beam reflected by the surface of the sample (w) reversely follows an optical path, and passes the polarizing beam splitter 12, and is condensed by an image formation lens 18, so that the laser beam passing through a pinhole is detected by a photodetector 19. The sample (w) is displaced in an optical axis direction through a stage control circuit 40, so that an optical axis direction position when a received light quantity is made maximum is obtained as a height data for each picture element by a processing device 46. When an X direction measuring line is specified, a Y direction position data is given to a partial deflection stopping circuit 45, and the partial deflection stopping circuit 45 stops the deflection of the laser beam by the perpendicular deflecting device 14b, and fixes it at a Y direction position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a confocal microscope, and more particularly, to a confocal microscope for measuring height or depth information of a surface of an object.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A confocal microscope irradiates an object to be measured with monochromatic light (usually a laser beam), and receives reflected light or transmitted light from the object through a light receiving element through an optical system including an objective lens. Usually, a pinhole is provided in front of the light receiving element, and an optical system is formed so that the focal point of the objective lens on the measurement surface of the object and the focal point on the light receiving side of the pinhole form a confocal point. According to such a configuration, when the relative distance between the focal point of the objective lens and the object in the optical axis direction is changed, the relative distance at which the amount of received light is maximized is determined, and the height (depth) of the object is increased. S) I can get information. In order to change the relative distance between the focus of the objective lens and the object in the optical axis direction, besides displacing the object in the optical axis direction, a lens whose refractive index changes is placed between the objective lens and the object. There is a method of changing the focal point of the objective lens in the optical axis direction by inserting.

Further, by scanning an object with laser light, height information of the object can be obtained over the entire scanning range. According to one-dimensional scanning, height information is obtained along a one-dimensional line, and if two-dimensional scanning is performed, height information over the entire two-dimensional plane, that is, three-dimensional information of an object can be obtained. it can. The scanning of the object by the laser light may be a method of fixing the object and deflecting the laser light, or a method of fixing the laser light and displacing the object.

An example of such a confocal microscope will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 4, in this confocal microscope, a laser beam emitted from a laser light source 101 passes through a collimator lens 102 and is deflected by a galvanometer mirror 103 along a one-dimensional line. This laser beam passes through the beam splitter 104 and the quarter-wave plate 105, and
The optical path is bent by the half mirror 106 and the imaging lens 10
After passing through the seventh half mirror 108 and the second half mirror 108, the light is condensed by the objective lens 109 on the sample (object) 111 placed on the stage 110.

[0006] The reflected light from the sample 111 traces the above optical path in reverse, and the objective lens 109 and the second half mirror 10
8. After passing through the imaging lens 107, the first half mirror 10
The optical path is bent at 6 and passes through the quarter-wave plate 105 again. As a result, the optical path is bent by the beam splitter 104 and received by the one-dimensional image sensor 112. When the galvanometer mirror 103 is vibrated by the galvanometer driving circuit 113, the laser beam linearly and linearly scans the surface of the sample 111.

The stage 11 on which the sample 111 is placed
0 is driven in the optical axis direction by the stage control circuit 114. The confocal optical system is formed such that when the focus of the objective lens 109 is focused on the surface of the sample 111, the focus is focused on the surface of the one-dimensional image sensor 112. Since the width of the one-dimensional image sensor 112 is sufficiently small, a confocal optical system is formed without providing a pinhole in front of the one-dimensional image sensor 112. That is, when the focus of the objective lens 109 is focused on the surface of the sample 111, the amount of light received by the one-dimensional image sensor 112 becomes maximum.

The signal obtained from the one-dimensional image sensor 112 is processed by a sensor driving circuit 115 and the A / D
After being converted into a digital value by the converter, it is supplied to a processing device (not shown) using a microcomputer. The processing device receives the sample 111 via the stage control circuit 114.
Is displaced in the optical axis direction to obtain relative position data (height data) of the sample surface in the optical axis direction when the amount of light received by the one-dimensional image sensor 112 is maximized. When the laser beam linearly scans the surface of the sample 111 one-dimensionally, the laser light focused on the one-dimensional image sensor 112 moves along the longitudinal direction of the one-dimensional image sensor 112. As a result, height data based on a change in the amount of received light is obtained for each element constituting the one-dimensional image sensor 112. In this way, a change in the surface height of the sample 111 along a straight line, that is, a cross-sectional shape is obtained.

The confocal microscope shown in FIG.
An observation optical system including a collimator lens 117 and a CCD camera 118 is also provided. This observation optical system shares the objective lens 109 with the above-mentioned confocal optical system, and has the same optical axis. The white light emitted from the white light source 116 passes through the collimator lens 117, the optical path of which is bent by the second half mirror 108, and is focused on the sample 111 by the objective lens 109. The white light reflected by the sample 111 passes through the objective lens 109, the second half mirror 108, the imaging lens 107,
After passing through the first half mirror 106, the CCD camera 118
An image is formed on the CCD device inside.

Sample 11 imaged by CCD camera 118
The color image of the surface of the first surface is displayed on the monitor screen. Then, the sample 11 measured by the confocal optical system described above
The change in the surface height along one straight line, that is, the cross-sectional shape is superimposed and displayed on the color image of the surface. This display example is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 120 is a simplified drawing of a surface pattern of, for example, a bare chip of a semiconductor integrated circuit displayed on a monitor screen. The horizontal line 121 at the center of the monitor screen is a straight line that the laser beam one-dimensionally scans the surface of the sample 111. That is, the surface height of the sample 111 is measured along the horizontal line. The cross-sectional shape obtained as a result is displayed as the contour line 122.

As described above, this confocal microscope measures the surface height of a sample along a one-dimensional line. Compared to the case where two-dimensional scanning is performed to obtain height information over the entire area of two-dimensional scanning, the mechanical and electrical structure of the device is simplified,
There is an advantage that cost can be reduced. For some samples, it is often sufficient to know the change in height or depth along a one-dimensional line.

[0013]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional confocal microscope, as shown in FIG. 5, a one-dimensional line from which height information is obtained is fixed to a horizontal line at the center of the monitor screen. . This is a rational configuration for associating the height information obtained from the confocal optical system with the color image obtained by the CCD camera. The objective lens is shared between the confocal optical system and the observation optical system. This is because the axes are aligned.

Therefore, for example, to obtain height information along the line 124 passing through the region 123 in the surface image of the sample shown in FIG.
It is necessary to move the sample 111 on the stage 110 so that 23 comes to the center of the screen. However, this sample 111
Since the surface image is an enlarged image, the above-described positioning is not easy and is a rather laborious operation.

On the other hand, in the case of a confocal microscope in which the surface of a sample is two-dimensionally scanned and height information is obtained over the entire area of the two-dimensional scanning,
It is possible to obtain a surface shape (contour of a cross section) along an arbitrary line by computer processing. However, in this case, since the height information along the desired line is extracted after obtaining the height information in the entire area of the two-dimensional scanning, there is a disadvantage that the measurement time is long.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a confocal microscope capable of obtaining a change in height information along an arbitrary measurement line and having a short measurement time.

[0017]

A confocal microscope according to the present invention includes a light source for irradiating an object with light and a light receiving element for receiving reflected light or transmitted light from the object through an optical system including an objective lens. Confocal optical system, scanning mechanism for scanning the object with light, displacement mechanism for changing the relative distance between the focus of the objective lens and the object in the optical axis direction, measurement line specifying means for specifying a desired measurement line For a plurality of points along the measurement line designated by the measurement line designation means, while changing the relative distance in the optical axis direction between the focus of the objective lens and the object, the light receiving amount of the light receiving element at each point is maximized. A processing device that obtains a relative distance as the height information of the surface of the object as the height information of the surface of the object, and a change in the surface height of the object along the measurement line, and a measurement of the surface height of the object obtained by the processing device Along the line And a display device for displaying of.

According to the above configuration, the surface height information of the object is obtained along the desired measurement line specified by the measurement line specifying means. That is, the change in the surface height of the object is determined along the measurement line. Therefore, compared to a measurement that obtains height information throughout the two-dimensional scan,
Measurement time is greatly reduced. Moreover, for example, it is not necessary to move the object while looking at the monitor screen to adjust the position where the height change is to be measured to the center of the screen. The measurement line can be designated at an arbitrary place on the monitor screen by the measurement line designation means.

As a specific configuration, preferably, the display device displays a surface image of the object, and the measurement line designation means superimposes and displays the measurement line on the surface image so that the measurement line can be moved. An arbitrary measurement line within the range of the surface image displayed on the display device is specified. For example, the measurement line is moved using a cursor moving key or a pointing device such as a mouse. In this way, the measurement line can be specified at an arbitrary position on the screen by a simple and natural operation. As another method of specifying the measurement line, for example, a method of numerically inputting the X coordinate or the Y coordinate (or both) of the measurement line from a keyboard or the like can be considered.

A first deflecting mechanism (for example, a horizontal deflecting device) in which the scanning mechanism deflects a light beam from a light source in a first direction.
And a second deflecting mechanism (for example, a vertical deflecting device) that deflects the light in the second direction, further includes a partial deflection stopping unit that stops scanning by the second deflecting mechanism at an arbitrary position. The partial deflection stopping means stops the scanning by the second deflection mechanism at the specified position in accordance with the information on the measurement line specified by the measurement line specifying means, whereby the first deflection is stopped.
It is preferable that the one-dimensional scan along the measurement line is performed only by the deflection mechanism. In this way, even in a confocal microscope that obtains height information in a two-dimensional plane, that is, three-dimensional information, by adding a simple configuration, the surface height of an object along an arbitrary measurement line can be calculated. The change can be measured in a short time.

[0021]

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

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a confocal microscope according to the present invention. The confocal microscope of the present invention has a confocal optical system 1
And a non-confocal optical system 2.

First, the confocal optical system 1 will be described.
The confocal optical system 1 includes a light source 10 for irradiating the sample w with monochromatic light (preferably laser light), a first collimating lens 11, a polarizing beam splitter 12, a quarter-wave plate 13,
Horizontal deflection device 14a, vertical deflection device 14b, first relay lens 15, second relay lens 16, objective lens 17,
Imaging lens 18, pinhole plate PH, first light receiving element 19
Etc. are included.

As the light source 10, for example, a He-Ne laser that emits red laser light is used. Laser drive circuit 44
The laser light emitted from the light source 10 driven by the
The polarizing beam splitter 1 passes through the collimating lens 11
The optical path is bent at 2 and passes through the １ ／ wavelength plate 13. Then, after being deflected in the horizontal (horizontal) direction and the vertical (vertical) direction by the horizontal deflecting device 14a and the vertical deflecting device 14b, the light passes through the first relay lens 15 and the second relay lens 16, and is sampled by the objective lens 17. The light is focused on the surface of the sample w placed on the stage 30.

The horizontal deflecting device (first deflecting mechanism) 14a and the vertical deflecting device (second deflecting mechanism) 14b are each composed of a galvanomirror, and deflect the laser light in the horizontal and vertical directions to thereby obtain the sample w. Is scanned with a laser beam. For convenience of description, the horizontal direction is referred to as an X direction, and the vertical direction is referred to as a Y direction. The sample stage 30 is driven in the Z direction (optical axis direction) by the stage control circuit 40. That is, the sample stage 30 and the stage control circuit 4
Reference numeral 0 denotes a displacement mechanism that changes the relative distance between the focal point of the objective lens 17 and the sample (object) w in the optical axis direction. Note that the sample stage 30 can be displaced in the X direction and the Y direction by manual operation.

The laser beam reflected by the sample w follows the above optical path in reverse. That is, the light passes through the objective lens 17, the second relay lens 16, and the first relay lens 15, passes through the horizontal deflection device 14a and the vertical deflection device 14b (galvanometer mirror).
Pass through the quarter-wave plate 13 again. As a result, the laser light passes through the polarization beam splitter 12 and is collected by the imaging lens 18. The condensed laser light passes through the pinhole of the pinhole plate PH arranged at the focal position of the imaging lens 18 and enters the first light receiving element 19. The first light receiving element 19 is composed of, for example, a photomultiplier or a photodiode, and converts the amount of received light into an electric signal. An electric signal corresponding to the amount of received light is provided to the first A / D converter 41 via an output amplifier and a gain control circuit (not shown), and is converted into a digital value.

The height (depth) information of the sample w can be obtained by the confocal optical system 1 configured as described above. The principle will be briefly described below.

As described above, when the sample stage 30 is driven in the Z direction (optical axis direction) by the stage control circuit 40, the relative distance between the focal point of the objective lens 17 and the sample w in the optical axis direction changes. . When the focal point of the objective lens 17 is focused on the surface (measured surface) of the sample w, the laser light reflected on the surface of the sample w is condensed by the imaging lens 18 via the above-described optical path, and is almost condensed. All the laser beams pass through the pinholes of the pinhole plate PH. Therefore, at this time, the amount of light received by the first light receiving element 19 becomes maximum. Conversely, the focus of the objective lens 17 is the surface of the sample w (the surface to be measured).
In a state where the laser beam is deviated from the focal point, the laser beam condensed by the imaging lens 18 focuses on a position deviated from the pinhole plate PH, so that only a part of the laser beam can pass through the pinhole. As a result, the amount of light received by the first light receiving element 19 is significantly reduced.

Therefore, when the light receiving amount of the first light receiving element 19 is detected while driving the sample stage 30 in the Z direction (optical axis direction) at an arbitrary point on the surface of the sample w, the light receiving amount becomes maximum. The position of the sample stage 30 in the Z direction (the relative distance between the focus of the objective lens 17 and the sample w in the optical axis direction) at that time can be uniquely obtained as height information.

In practice, each time the sample stage 30 is moved by one step, the horizontal deflection device 14a and the vertical deflection device 1
4b scans the surface of the sample w to scan the first light receiving element 19
Is obtained. When the sample stage 30 is moved in the Z direction from the lower end to the upper end of the measurement range, received light amount data that changes according to the Z direction position is obtained for a plurality of points (pixels) in the scanning range as shown in FIG. Can be Based on the received light amount data, the maximum received light amount and the Z-direction position at that time are obtained for each point (pixel). Therefore, the distribution of the surface height of the sample w on the XY plane is obtained. This processing is executed by a processing device 46 using a microcomputer.

The obtained surface height distribution is displayed on the monitor screen of the display device 47 as a brightness distribution by, for example, converting height data into luminance data. Alternatively, as described later, a change in surface height along a specified measurement line can be displayed on a screen as a cross-sectional shape.

Further, a surface image (monochrome image) of the sample w can be obtained from a luminance signal using the received light amount obtained for a plurality of points within the scanning range as luminance data. If a luminance signal is generated using the maximum amount of light received at each point (pixel) as luminance data, an image with a deep depth of field, that is, an image focused at each point having a different surface height can be obtained. Further, when the height is set at the height (position in the Z direction) at which the maximum amount of received light is obtained at an arbitrary pixel of interest, the amount of received light of the other pixels becomes extremely small. An image is obtained in which the luminance sharply decreases as the distance from the pixel of interest increases.

Next, the non-confocal optical system 2 will be described. The non-confocal optical system 2 includes a white light source 20 for irradiating the sample w with white light (illumination light for capturing a color image),
Collimating lens 21, first and second half mirrors 2
2, 23, and a color CCD 24 as a second light receiving element. The non-confocal optical system 2 is
And the optical axes of the two optical systems 1 and 2 coincide.

As the white light source 20, for example, a white lamp is used. However, a special light source is not provided, and natural light or indoor light may be used. The white light emitted from the white light source 20 passes through the second collimating lens 21 and passes through the first half mirror 22
The optical path is bent by and the light is focused on the surface of the sample w placed on the sample stage 30 by the objective lens 17.

The white light reflected by the sample w passes through the objective lens 17, the first half mirror 22, and the second relay lens 16, is reflected by the second half mirror 23, and is reflected by the color CC.
The light enters D24 to form an image. The color CCD 24 is provided at a position conjugate with or close to the pinhole of the pinhole plate PH of the confocal optical system 1. The color image picked up by the color CCD 24 is read out by the CCD drive circuit 43, and its analog output signal is given to the second A / D converter 42 and converted into a digital value. The color image obtained in this manner is displayed on the monitor screen of the display device 47 as an enlarged color image for observing the sample w.

As described above, the confocal microscope of the present embodiment measures and displays the distribution of the height (depth) of the sample using the confocal optical system, displays the confocal image, and displays the color using the non-confocal optical system. It has image capturing and displaying functions and various other functions. Combine a black-and-white image with a large depth of field obtained with a confocal optical system and a normal color magnified image obtained with a non-confocal optical system to generate and display a color magnified image with a deep depth of field You can also.

Further, a change in surface height along a designated measurement line can be displayed on a screen as a sectional shape.
In this case, if the sample w is not scanned over the entire XY plane by the laser beam but only along the measurement line, the time required for measuring the height data can be greatly reduced. Hereinafter, this measurement mode (hereinafter, referred to as a sectional shape measurement mode) will be described.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the sectional shape measurement mode. First, in step # 101, the position in the Y direction is determined. In the present embodiment, the measurement line is a straight line extending in the X direction. Therefore, the measurement line is specified by specifying the position in the Y direction. The specific operation procedure for specifying the measurement line is as follows. Note that an operation panel 48 including operation keys and the like used to specify a measurement line constitutes a measurement line specification unit.

It is assumed that a color image is displayed on the monitor screen of the display device 47 by the above-described non-confocal optical system.
In this display mode, by moving the sample stage 30 in the X direction and the Y direction by manual operation, an area including a portion where the cross-sectional shape of the sample w is to be measured is displayed on the monitor screen. Next, using the condition setting box superimposed on the monitor screen, the section shape measurement mode is selected, and the measurement range (difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the height data) and the measurement pitch (per step) Height) and other measurement conditions. Then, when the confirm button is pressed, the display of the condition setting box disappears, and a horizontal measurement line appears. The surface color image of the sample w remains displayed.

By operating a cursor key or a mouse on the operation panel 48, the measurement line is moved to a desired position on the surface color image of the sample w displayed on the monitor screen of the display device 47. This operation is performed by a horizontal line (measurement line) on the monitor screen of the conventional confocal microscope shown in FIG.
This is equivalent to moving 121 in the vertical direction (Y direction).

In the confocal microscope of this embodiment, the position of the measurement line in the Y direction is specified as described above. As another specifying method, a method of inputting the Y coordinate numerically can be considered.
A configuration is also conceivable in which the measurement line is a straight line extending in the Y direction instead of the X direction, and an arbitrary position in the X direction is specified in the same manner as described above.

When the Y-direction position of the measurement line is determined as described above (Step # 101), the Y-direction position data is given to the partial deflection stop circuit (45 in FIG. 1). The partial deflection stop circuit 45 stops the deflection of the laser beam by the vertical deflection device 14b according to the Y-direction position data, and fixes the laser beam at the Y-direction position. More specifically, the partial deflection stop circuit 45 sets the amplitude of the AC voltage applied to the galvanomirror constituting the vertical deflection device 14b to zero, and supplies a DC voltage corresponding to the Y-direction position data. Thereby, the galvanomirror constituting the vertical deflection device 14b stops at a predetermined angle.

As a result, the laser light emitted from the light source 10 is deflected only in the horizontal direction by the horizontal deflecting device 14a, and scans the surface of the sample w in the X direction along the designated measurement line (step # 102). .

The processing unit 46 constituted by a microcomputer stores the amount of received light of each pixel along the measurement line in the memory in association with the position in the Z direction (step # 10).
3). The light reception amount of each pixel is data obtained by converting a signal from the first light receiving element 19 into a digital value by the first A / D converter 41 as described above.

Next, the sample stage 30 is moved by one pitch (1
(Step) Raise (Step # 104). At the start of the measurement, the initial position of the sample stage 30 is set at the lower end position of the measurement range.

Subsequently, the surface of the sample w is scanned again in the X direction along the designated measurement line (step # 10).
5). The processing device 46 compares the new light receiving amount of each pixel obtained at this time with the light amount of each pixel stored in the memory (Step # 106). If the new received light amount is larger than the stored light amount, the stored light amount and the storage data of the Z direction position are updated (step # 107). If the new received light amount is smaller than the stored light amount, the process proceeds to step # 108 without doing anything.

In step # 108, the processing unit 46
Compares the Z-direction position of the sample stage 30 with the upper end position of the measurement range. If lower than the upper end position, step # 104
Return to Steps # 104 to # 104 are performed until the Z-direction position of the sample stage 30 reaches the upper end position of the measurement range.
Step 108 is repeated.

When the position of the sample stage 30 in the Z direction reaches the upper end of the measurement range, the measurement result is displayed on the monitor screen of the display device 47 (step # 109), and the measurement is completed. The memory stores, for each pixel along the measurement line, data on the maximum amount of received light and the position in the Z direction at that time, and this corresponds to the measurement result. When the positions in the Z direction of each pixel are connected, a cross-sectional shape along the measurement line is obtained, and is displayed on the monitor screen as a contour line 122 of the cross-sectional shape shown in FIG.

In the above description of the embodiment, possible modifications have been described as appropriate.
In addition, implementation by various modifications or forms is possible. For example, scanning of a sample by light is not limited to two-dimensional scanning by horizontal deflection and vertical deflection, and various scanning methods have been proposed. For example, by using a cylindrical lens to generate elongated light (slit light) in the X direction and deflecting it in the Y direction, two-dimensional scanning is possible. Also in this case, by stopping the deflection in the Y direction at an arbitrary position,
A cross-sectional shape along the measurement line in the X direction can be obtained in a short time.

Although the scanning mechanism becomes complicated,
The measurement line is not limited to a straight line in the X direction or the Y direction, but may be specified as an oblique straight line. Furthermore, it is conceivable to designate the measurement line as a step-like line or curve.

Although the confocal microscope of the above embodiment is a reflection type microscope, the present invention can be applied to a transmission type confocal microscope. For a transmission microscope,
Laser light of the confocal optical system and white light of the non-confocal optical system are irradiated from the back surface of the sample. The light source of the confocal optical system is not limited to a laser, but may be a monochromatic light source. The light source of the non-confocal optical system can be replaced by natural light or room light.

[0052]

As described above, according to the confocal microscope of the present invention, a measurement line is designated at a desired position while referring to a surface image of a sample displayed on a monitor screen.
A cross-sectional shape along this measurement line can be obtained in a short time. That is, unlike a conventional confocal microscope using one-dimensional scanning, an arbitrary position can be designated without the measurement line being fixed at the center of the monitor screen.
Unlike a conventional two-dimensional scanning confocal microscope, it does not take a long time to obtain a cross-sectional shape along the measurement line.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a confocal microscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating a relationship between a light receiving amount obtained by a confocal optical system and a position in a Z direction.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a cross-sectional shape measurement mode in the confocal microscope according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional confocal microscope.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cross-sectional shape measurement result using a conventional confocal microscope.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 confocal optical system 2 non-confocal optical system 10 light source 14a horizontal deflection device (first scanning mechanism) 14b vertical deflection device (second scanning mechanism) 19 first light receiving element 30 sample stage (displacement mechanism) 40 stage control circuit ( Displacement mechanism) 45 Partial deflection stop circuit 46 Processing device 47 Display device 48 Operation panel (measurement line designation means) w Sample (object)

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2F065 AA04 AA06 AA24 AA52 AA53 BB05 DD06 DD10 FF01 FF10 FF23 FF41 GG02 GG04 GG10 GG22 GG24 HH04 HH13 JJ02 JJ05 JJ25 LL08 LL09 LL30 LL61 Q02 U01 Q24 U02 2F112 AB07 BA02 BA05 CA13 DA02 DA08 DA15 DA32 DA40 FA07 FA21 FA35 FA45 GA05 2H052 AA08 AB06 AB24 AC04 AC15 AC27 AC34 AF02 AF21

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A confocal optical system comprising: a light source for irradiating an object with light; and a light receiving element for receiving reflected light or transmitted light from the object through an optical system including an objective lens. A scanning mechanism for scanning with a; a displacement mechanism for changing a relative distance between the focal point of the objective lens and the object in the optical axis direction; a measurement line designating unit for designating a desired measurement line; For a plurality of points along the designated measurement line, while changing the relative distance in the optical axis direction between the focal point of the objective lens and the object, the amount of light received by the light receiving element at each point is maximized. A processing device that determines the relative distance as height information of the surface of the object, and determines a change in surface height of the object along the measurement line, and a surface height of the object determined by the processing device. Confocal microscope equipped with a display device for displaying the variation of along the measurement line. 2. The display device displays a surface image of the object, and the measurement line designating unit superimposes and displays the measurement line on the surface image and makes the measurement line movable, 2. The confocal according to claim 1, wherein an arbitrary measurement line within a range of the surface image displayed on the display device is specified, and the processing device obtains a change in the surface height of the object along the specified measurement line. microscope. 3. The scanning mechanism is a two-dimensional scanning mechanism including a first deflecting mechanism for deflecting a light beam from a light source in a first direction and a second deflecting mechanism for deflecting in a second direction. A partial deflection stop unit for stopping scanning by the second deflection mechanism at an arbitrary position, wherein the partial deflection stop unit scans by the second deflection mechanism in accordance with information on a measurement line designated by the measurement line designation unit. By stopping at the designated position,
The confocal microscope according to claim 1, wherein a one-dimensional scan along the measurement line is performed only by the deflection mechanism, and a change in the surface height of the object along the measurement line is obtained.