JP2001154105A - Ultraviolet ray microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultraviolet ray microscope of which observation image is bright, the alignment of a light source can be confirmed in the middle of the observation of a sample, and the adjustment operation of a light source position is easy. SOLUTION: This ultraviolet ray microscope having a stage 14 holding a specimen 13, the light source 1 emitting light having a wavelength region from a visible region to an ultraviolet region, illuminating lens systems 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 illuminating the specimen 13 held to the stage 14 with the light from the light source 1, image forming lens systems 10 and 12 forming the enlarged optical image of the specimen 13 by the light from the specimen 13, and an observation means 11 observing the ultraviolet ray image of the specimen 13 is provided with a light separating means 2 separating the light emitting from the light source 1 into the light having the wavelength in the ultraviolet ray region and used in illumination and the light in the wavelength region which is not used in the illumination and detecting means 3, 4 and 7 for the light source image provided on the optical path of the light in the wavelength region which is not used for the illumination in the separated light.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultraviolet microscope, and more particularly, to an incident ultraviolet illumination device for an ultraviolet microscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a Koehler illumination optical system is used in a microscope in order to uniformly and uniformly illuminate an observation range of a specimen. In the Koehler illumination optical system, it is necessary to adjust the position of the light source so that an image of the light source is formed on the pupil plane of the objective lens. Normally, the user adjusts the position of the light source when starting use of the microscope or when replacing the light source.

As an illuminating device for a fluorescent epi-illumination microscope, a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-333815 (conventional example 1).
Is disclosed. As shown in FIG. 5, the illumination device includes an objective lens 111, a sample 113, a light source 101 for excitation light, a half mirror 103, and a collector lens 10.
2, the lenses 106 and 109, and the sample 1 reflecting the excitation light
Dichroic mirror 11 that transmits the fluorescence from 13
0, the focusing screen 105, and the light split by the excitation light beam splitting means (here, the half mirror 103).
5 and a lens 104 for guiding the light to the fifth lens.

[0004] Excitation light emitted from a light source 101 is converted into a parallel light beam by a collector lens 102. This excitation light is split by the half mirror 103, and the transmitted light is
The light is reflected by the dichroic mirror 110 through 109 and illuminates the sample 113 through the objective lens 111. Also,
The excitation light reflected by the half mirror 103 is condensed by the lens 104 and forms an image of the light source 101 on the focusing screen 105.
The adjustment of the position of the light source 101 is performed while viewing the image on the focusing screen 105.

On the other hand, as a tool for centering an ultraviolet light source in an ultraviolet microscope, a technique (conventional example 2) disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-86981 is disclosed. As shown in FIG. 6, the ultraviolet microscope includes a light source 201, a collector lens 202 for condensing light from the light source 201, a sample 210
A half mirror 204 that guides light from the light source 201 to the sample 210; an objective lens 209; a projection lens 203 that projects the light source 201 onto the pupil of the objective lens 209; a centering tool 213; Tool 21
3 is provided with a revolver 208 for mounting the same and an observation optical system 214 for observing light reflected from the sample 210. The centering tool 213 has a lens barrel (housing) 205 of an objective lens, a projection plate 206 mounted on the barrel 205, and a UV cut filter 207 for blocking ultraviolet rays thereon.

The light from the light source 201 is transmitted to the collector lens 2
At 02, a parallel light beam is condensed by the projection lens 203, partially reflected and partially transmitted by the half mirror 204, and the reflected light is projected to the pupil position of the objective lens 209. When adjusting the position of the light source 201, the centering tool 213 is attached to the revolver 208 for attaching the objective lens, and the projection plate 20 that emits visible light by irradiating ultraviolet rays.
6, an image of the light source 201 is formed, and the position is adjusted while viewing the image.

[0007]

In an ultraviolet microscope, high-magnification observation of several hundred to several thousand times is often performed. However, since the amount of light is inversely proportional to the square of the magnification of the optical system, the brightness of illumination light is low. It is necessary to secure enough. In the method for adjusting the position of the light source of the fluorescence-type epi-illumination microscope disclosed in Conventional Example 1, light (excitation light) having a wavelength necessary for illuminating the sample is divided by the excitation light dividing means. A loss occurs in the amount of light. As a result, there is a problem that an observation image is darkened due to a shortage of illumination light. Further, if the output of the light source is increased to compensate for the loss of the light amount, the life of the lamp is shortened, and the number of times of replacing the lamp is increased, which is uneconomical. Furthermore, since heat generation is increased, heat generation countermeasures must be sufficiently considered in the design of the apparatus.

An ultraviolet microscope often uses a light source utilizing discharge such as a mercury lamp. This type of lamp has a shorter life than a halogen lamp often used in an ordinary optical microscope. More. Further, in this type of lamp, the discharge electrode is consumed with the discharge time, and the maximum luminance light emitting point shifts. Therefore, it is necessary to frequently adjust the position of the light source. In the case where the centering tool is mounted at the mounting position of the objective lens disclosed in the conventional example 2, the centering tool must be mounted after removing the objective lens. However, there is a problem that the alignment cannot be confirmed. As described above, the light source such as a mercury lamp shifts the maximum luminance light emitting point with the discharge time. Therefore, in the conventional example 2, the position of the light source must be confirmed by frequently attaching a centering tool. However, there is a problem that handling is troublesome.

Further, in the ultraviolet microscope, in order to sufficiently secure the brightness of the illumination light, the magnification of projecting the image of the light source onto the pupil plane of the objective lens is often large. In the second conventional example, when the position of the light source is largely shifted, the image of the light source is not projected on the centering tool, and it is difficult to bring the light source position to the adjustable range. Recent microscope systems, especially ultraviolet microscopes, etc. tend to become larger and larger, but adjusting the position of the light source while looking at the centering tool attached to the position of the objective lens is physically difficult for large microscopes. However, there is a problem that it is complicated to adjust the light source position by one person because the distance is often long.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the invention according to claim 1 is that an observation image is bright and alignment of a light source can be confirmed even during observation of a sample.
An object of the present invention is to provide an ultraviolet microscope in which a light source position can be easily adjusted.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stage for holding an object, and a light source for emitting light having a wavelength range from a visible region to an ultraviolet region. An illumination lens system that illuminates the subject held by the stage with light from the light source, and an image forming lens system that includes an objective lens system that forms an enlarged optical image of the subject with light from the subject. In an ultraviolet microscope having an observation unit for observing an ultraviolet image of a subject, light separation for separating light in an ultraviolet region used for illumination using light emitted from the light source and light in a wavelength region not used for illumination. Means,
Light source image detecting means provided on an optical path of light in a wavelength region not used for illumination among the separated light.

In the ultraviolet microscope according to the first aspect of the present invention,
A light separating unit that separates light in a wavelength range not used for illumination from light in an ultraviolet range used for lighting and light emitted in a wavelength range not used for lighting; A light source obtained by the detection unit provided on the optical path of light in a wavelength range not used for illumination, of the light separated by the light separation unit, by including the optical image detection unit provided on the optical path. Adjust the light source position while viewing the image.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a specific embodiment will be described.

(Embodiment 1) FIGS. 1 to 4 show Embodiment 1, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ultraviolet microscope, FIG. 2 is a front view of a target screen, and FIG. 3 shows emission wavelength intensity characteristics of a light source. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing spectral characteristics of the dichroic mirror. In the present embodiment, an ultraviolet microscope having an illumination wavelength of 365 nm will be described as an example.

In FIG. 1, an ultraviolet microscope includes a sample 13 as a subject mounted on a microscope stage 14, an objective lens 12 for condensing light from the sample 13, a sample 13
A light source 1 (here, a mercury lamp) for illuminating the light source, a collector lens 6 for converting light emitted from the light source 1 into a parallel light flux,
The dichroic mirror 2 as a light separating means having a characteristic of reflecting light in a wavelength range necessary for illuminating the sample 13 and transmitting unnecessary light in the parallel light flux, and illumination light reflected by the dichroic mirror 2 Of the light in the required wavelength range,
A band-pass filter 5 that transmits only ultraviolet light of the illumination wavelength, a half mirror 10 that guides the illumination ultraviolet light to the objective lens 12, projection lenses 8 and 9 that guide the light source image to the pupil plane of the objective lens 12, and a sample 13. Ultraviolet image observation optical system 11 as observation means for observing an image by reflected ultraviolet light
And a target screen 3 disposed on the optical path of light transmitted by the dichroic mirror 2, a band-pass filter 4 disposed between the dichroic mirror 2 and the target screen 3, and an image of the light source 1 on the target screen 3. And an imaging lens 7 for projecting. The collector lens 6, the bandpass filter 5, the projection lenses 8, 9 and the half mirror 10 constitute an illumination lens system. An image forming lens system is configured by the half mirror 10 and the objective lens 12 as an objective lens system. The target screen 3, the bandpass filter 4, and the imaging lens 7 constitute a light source image detecting unit.

The target screen 3 is made of a translucent translucent member. As shown in FIG.
Are arranged. The position of the intersection of the cross 20 is adjusted such that it is conjugate with the center of the pupil of the objective lens 12.

Next, the operation of the ultraviolet microscope will be described. In FIG. 1, light emitted from a light source 1 (mercury lamp) is converted into a parallel light beam by a collector lens 6. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the emission wavelength intensity characteristic of the light source 1 (mercury lamp) has a peak at 365 nm, which is the illumination wavelength, and also at some wavelengths from the ultraviolet region to the visible region. I have. The parallel light transmitted through the collector lens 6 is reflected by the dichroic mirror 2 having a spectral characteristic shown in FIG. 4 only in a wavelength range including a wavelength of 365 nm without loss of light amount, and light of other wavelength components unnecessary for illumination is removed. To Penetrate. The transmitted light includes light in the visible range.

The light reflected by the dichroic mirror 2 is incident on a band-pass filter 5 that transmits only light having a wavelength of 365 nm, and has a wavelength of 365 n which is necessary for illumination.
Only m lights are extracted. This light is transmitted through the projection lenses 8 and 9
And reflected by the half mirror 10, and the objective lens 1
An image 15 of the light source 1 is formed on the pupil plane 2. Thereafter, the light enters the objective lens 12 and illuminates the sample 13. The reflected light from the sample 13 is condensed again by the objective lens 12, passes through the half mirror 10, and is guided to the ultraviolet image observation optical system 11 to obtain an observation image.

On the other hand, the light transmitted through the dichroic mirror 2 is incident on the imaging lens 7 and is incident on the bandpass filter 4 having a characteristic of transmitting only visible light having a wavelength of 550 nm. The light passing through the bandpass filter 4 is light having a wavelength of 550 nm, and this light forms an image of the visible light of the light source 1 on the target screen 3. Since the cross 20 on the target screen 3 (see FIG. 2) is adjusted to a position conjugate with the center of the pupil of the objective lens 12,
The microscope user adjusts the position in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis by a position adjustment mechanism (not shown) provided on the light source 1 so that the position where the light source image on the target screen 3 shines brightest becomes the intersection point of the cross 20. And
Further, position adjustment in the optical axis direction is performed so that the light source image on the target screen 3 has the best contrast.
With the above operations, the ideal Koehler lighting adjustment has been made.

According to the present embodiment, the light having a wavelength of 365 nm required for illuminating the specimen is all separated by the dichroic mirror and used as light for illuminating the specimen. And a bright observation image is obtained. Further, since the target screen is arranged in an optical path independent of the observation system, the alignment of the light source can be confirmed even while observing the sample. Further, since there is no need to remove the objective lens and replace it with a target tool, the adjustment can be easily performed. In addition, since the light source image is separated into a light path for position adjustment near the light source, the light source position adjustment part and the target screen for confirming the light source position are easily arranged close to each other. Adjustment work can be easily performed.

(Modification 1) In Embodiment 1, FIG.
The imaging lens 7 in the middle is selected with an appropriate focal length in consideration of the mounting tolerance of the position of the light source 1, the size of the target surface of the target screen 3, and the adjustment accuracy of the light source 1. The projection magnification of the light source 1 may be adjusted. In this case, even if the position of the light source 1 is largely deviated, by always setting the projection magnification so that the light source image is projected on the target screen 3, the image of the light source is not lost and the adjustment is facilitated.

(Modification 2) In the first embodiment, the illumination wavelength of the ultraviolet microscope is 365 nm, but it is not necessary to limit to this wavelength. For example, in the case of an ultraviolet microscope using light having a wavelength of 248 nm, the same configuration, operation, and effect can be obtained by changing the characteristics of a dichroic mirror and a bandpass filter. Similarly, a lamp having a different emission wavelength intensity distribution, such as a mercury-xenon lamp, may be used.

(Modification 3) In the first embodiment, 365n
The illumination light of m was reflected by the dichroic mirror and light including visible light was transmitted, but the transmission and reflection characteristics of the dichroic mirror were reversed, and an ultraviolet illumination optical system was arranged on the transmitted light side of the dichroic mirror. An optical system of the target screen may be arranged on the reflected light side.

(Modification 4) In the first embodiment, the target screen uses the cross pattern as an index. However, any shape may be used as long as the position conjugate with the pupil of the objective lens can be known. For example, a concentric circle pattern, The shape may be a combination of a concentric circle and a cross pattern.

[0025]

According to the first aspect of the invention, of the light separated by the light separating means, the light source image obtained by the detecting means provided on the optical path of the light in the wavelength range not used for illumination is viewed. Since the adjustment of the light source position is performed while the observation image is bright, the alignment of the light source can be confirmed even during the observation of the sample, and an ultraviolet microscope which can easily adjust the light source position can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ultraviolet microscope according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the target screen according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a table showing emission wavelength intensity characteristics of the light source according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a spectral characteristic diagram of the dichroic mirror according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an illumination device in a fluorescence-type epi-illumination microscope of Conventional Example 1.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a light source centering tool in an ultraviolet microscope according to Conventional Example 2.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Light source 2 Dichroic mirror 3 Target screen 4 Band pass filter 5 Band pass filter 6 Collector lens 7 Imaging lens 8 Projection lens 9 Projection lens 10 Half mirror 11 Ultraviolet image observation optical system 12 Objective lens 13 Sample 14 Stage

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2G043 AA03 EA01 FA02 HA01 HA02 HA09 JA03 KA03 KA05 LA03 MA11 2G059 AA05 BB08 EE01 EE07 FF03 HH03 JJ03 JJ11 JJ13 JJ22 KK04 2H052 AA09 AB24 AC02 AC12 AC27 AC36

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A stage for holding an object, a light source for emitting light having a wavelength range from a visible region to an ultraviolet region,
An illumination lens system for illuminating the object held on the stage with light from the light source; an image forming lens system including an objective lens system for forming an enlarged optical image of the object with light from the object; In an ultraviolet microscope having an observation unit for observing an ultraviolet image of the specimen, a light separation unit that separates light having a wavelength in an ultraviolet region used for illumination from light emitted from the light source and light in a wavelength region not used for illumination. An ultraviolet microscope comprising: a light source image detecting means provided on an optical path of light in a wavelength range not used for illumination among the separated light.