JP2004138947A - Confocal microscopic system selective in scanning mode - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a confocal microscopic system by which a user can select which is made preferential, measuring time or measuring accuracy, in accordance with a sample and a measuring condition. <P>SOLUTION: This system is constituted so that light from the surface of the sample within a measurement range decided according to optical magnification is received by a photodetector through a confocal optical system, the height information and the light quantity information of the surface of the sample are acquired based on the received light information, and the picture of the surface of the sample obtained by processing the acquired information is displayed on the picture plane of a display device. The system is equipped with a plurality of scanning modes where a scanning range can be switched to all or one part of the measurement range as for the scanning of the surface of the sample with the light in the measurement range, and the number of scanning lines can be switched to the maximum or the minimum, and which are decided according to the combination of the scanning range and the number of scanning lines, and constituted so that the user can select one of a plurality of scanning modes in the case of measurement on the display of the picture plane. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a confocal microscope system for acquiring information such as a super-depth image and a height distribution of a sample based on optical information from the sample, and more specifically, a scanning accuracy or scanning when scanning a sample with light. The present invention relates to a confocal microscope system capable of selecting a time priority.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a confocal microscope, light from a sample is received by a light receiving element via a confocal optical system, and based on the amount of received light, an ultra-depth image (an image with a very deep focal depth) or a height distribution of the sample is obtained. Information is obtained. When the relative distance between the sample placed on the stage and the objective lens is changed in the direction of the optical axis, the amount of light incident on the light receiving element via the confocal optical system, that is, the amount of received light, changes, and The amount of received light is maximized when the subject is in focus. Therefore, height information of the surface of the sample is calculated from the relative distance between the sample and the objective lens when the maximum amount of received light is obtained, and the height distribution of the surface of the sample is obtained by scanning the surface of the sample with light. be able to.
[0003]
The acquired height distribution is displayed on the screen of the display device by, for example, three-dimensional display. Alternatively, the height distribution replaced with a luminance distribution or a color distribution is displayed on the screen. A CRT (cathode ray tube) or an LCD (liquid crystal display) is used as a display device, and a controller for control, a display device, a console, and the like are connected to the confocal microscope to form a confocal microscope system.
[0004]
In addition, by connecting information on the amount of light received when each point (pixel) on the sample surface is focused (that is, information on the maximum luminance of each pixel), a monochrome image of the sample surface with a very deep depth of focus can be obtained. Can be. This image is a so-called super-depth image.
[0005]
Furthermore, by separating the light from the sample irradiated with white light from the confocal optical system and receiving the light with the color image sensor, a color image of the sample surface in the same range as the ultra-depth image can be obtained. This color image has a shallow depth of focus unlike an ultra-deep image, but by performing a synthesizing process to replace the luminance signal with the luminance signal of the ultra-deep image, a color image with a deep focal depth (a color ultra-deep image) It is also possible to obtain).
[0006]
In the measurement of a sample using a confocal microscope as described above, a process of scanning the surface of the sample with light in the X and Y directions within a measurement range determined by the optical magnification to detect and store the amount of light received by each pixel. It is repeatedly executed at a set pitch in the height direction (Z direction). That is, while changing the relative distance between the sample and the objective lens in the optical axis direction (height direction) at the set pitch within the set range, the distribution of the received light amount on the XY plane (cross section) of the sample at each position in the height direction is changed. Is obtained. When the measurement within the set range in the height direction is completed, the relationship between the position in the height direction and the amount of received light for each pixel on the XY plane is obtained by data processing as described above, and A corresponding height position is determined.
[0007]
Therefore, the time required for one measurement varies depending on the measurement range (upper limit and lower limit) in the height direction (Z direction) and the measurement pitch (set pitch). In order to shorten this time, it is necessary to narrow the measurement range in the height direction or increase (rough) the measurement pitch. However, in the case of a sample having large surface irregularities (difference in height), the measurement range in the height direction is inevitably large. Further, if the measurement pitch is made coarse, the detection accuracy of the position in the height direction corresponding to the maximum amount of received light deteriorates. Therefore, there is a limit in making the measurement pitch coarse.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As a method for reducing the time required for one measurement, it is conceivable to reduce the scanning time of the sample by light on the XY plane. However, there is a physical upper limit to the scanning frequency particularly when a resonant (resonant type) scanner is used, and it is difficult to increase the scanning frequency beyond that. Therefore, it is conceivable to narrow the scanning range on the XY plane or to make the pitch of the scanning lines coarse. However, narrowing the scanning range means that only a part of the measurement range of the sample surface determined by the optical magnification is to be measured, and thus is not suitable for measurement in which a measurement result in the widest possible range is prioritized. Further, if the pitch of the scanning lines is made coarse, the number of pixel data actually measured becomes smaller by that amount, so that the measurement accuracy on the XY plane is reduced, and the definition of the obtained image is reduced.
[0009]
An object of the present invention is to provide a confocal microscope system in which a user can select which of measurement time and measurement accuracy is prioritized according to a sample and measurement conditions in view of the above conventional problems.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The confocal microscope system of the present invention receives light from a sample surface within a measurement range determined by an optical magnification by a light receiving element via a confocal optical system, and based on the received light information, height information and light amount of the sample surface. A confocal microscope system that acquires information and displays an image of the sample surface obtained by processing the acquired information on a screen of a display device, wherein the scanning range is related to scanning of the sample surface by light in the measurement range. And the number of scanning lines can be switched to the maximum number or the reduction number, and a plurality of scanning modes determined by a combination of a scanning range and the number of scanning lines are provided. It is characterized in that the user can select one of a plurality of scanning modes for measurement.
[0011]
According to such a configuration, the user can select a scanning mode with a large number of scanning lines when giving priority to measurement accuracy, and select a scanning mode with a small number of scanning lines when giving priority to shortening the measurement time. it can. If the scan range, which is a substantial measurement range, can be narrowed (for example, if the target range is further narrowed after the first measurement), the scan mode in which the scan range is narrowed is further selected. Measurement time can be shortened.
[0012]
Further, in a preferred embodiment, a resonance type (resonant) scanner is used for horizontal scanning with respect to scanning of the sample surface by light, the horizontal scanning can be switched to one-way scanning or reciprocal scanning, and a plurality of screens are displayed when the user performs measurement. , And one-way scanning or reciprocating scanning can be selected.
[0013]
In the case of a resonance type scanner, reciprocal scanning is possible because the time required for the forward path and the return path are the same (half cycle) and the phase changes are the same. According to the above configuration, it is possible to select a reciprocating scan in a case where a one-way scan is performed with priority on measurement accuracy in a normal scan and a reduction in measurement time is prioritized. While the measurement time is reduced to approximately half by the reciprocal scanning, a higher measurement accuracy can be obtained as compared with the case where the number of scanning lines is reduced to half.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a confocal microscope system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The confocal microscope system 1 includes a confocal microscope having a confocal optical system 2 and a non-confocal optical system 3, a laser driving circuit 44 of the confocal microscope, signal processing circuits 41, 42, 43 from light receiving elements, and an objective lens. A controller including a moving mechanism 40, a controller 46 using a microcomputer, and the like, and a display device 47 and an input device 48 connected to the controller are provided.
[0016]
First, the confocal optical system 2 of the confocal microscope and its signal processing will be described. The confocal optical system 2 includes a light source 10 for irradiating the sample wk with monochromatic light (for example, laser light), a first collimating lens 11, a polarizing beam splitter 12, a quarter-wave plate 13, a horizontal deflection device 14a, and a vertical deflection. The device 14b includes a first relay lens 15, a second relay lens 16, an objective lens 17, an imaging lens 18, a pinhole plate 9, a light receiving element 19, and the like.
[0017]
As the light source 10, for example, a semiconductor laser that emits red laser light is used. Laser light emitted from the light source 10 driven by the laser drive circuit 44 passes through the first collimator lens 11, the optical path is bent by the polarization beam splitter 12, and passes through the 波長 wavelength plate 13. Thereafter, the light is deflected in the horizontal (horizontal) direction and the vertical (vertical) direction by the horizontal deflection device 14a and the vertical deflection device 14b, 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 wk placed on the stage 30.
[0018]
The horizontal deflection device 14a is constituted by a resonant (resonant type) scanner, and the vertical deflection device 14b is constituted by a galvano (electromagnetic) scanner. By deflecting the laser light in both the horizontal and vertical directions, the surface of the sample wk is scanned with the laser light. 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 objective lens 17 is driven in the Z direction (optical axis direction) by the objective lens moving mechanism 40. Thereby, the relative position between the focus of the objective lens 17 and the sample wk in the optical axis direction can be changed.
[0019]
However, the relative position in the optical axis direction between the focus of the objective lens 17 and the sample wk can be changed by another method. For example, instead of driving the objective lens 17 in the Z direction, the sample stage 30 may be driven in the Z direction. Alternatively, a configuration in which the focal point of the objective lens 17 is moved in the Z direction by inserting a lens whose refractive index changes between the objective lens 17 and the sample wk is also possible. The sample stage 30 can be displaced in the X, Y, and Z directions by manual operation.
[0020]
The laser light reflected by the sample wk reverses the above optical path. That is, the light passes through the objective lens 17, the second relay lens 16, and the first relay lens 15, and again passes through the quarter-wave plate 13 via the horizontal deflection device 14a and the vertical deflection device 14b. As a result, the laser light passes through the polarization beam splitter 12 and is condensed by the imaging lens 18. The condensed laser light passes through the pinhole of the pinhole plate 9 disposed at the focal position of the imaging lens 18 and enters the light receiving element 19. The light receiving element 19 is composed of, for example, a photomultiplier tube (photomultiplier tube) or a photodiode, and converts the amount of received light into an electric signal. The electric signal corresponding to the amount of received light is provided to the first AD converter 41 via an output amplifier and a gain control circuit (not shown), and is converted into a digital value.
[0021]
The height (depth) information of the sample wk can be acquired by the confocal optical system 2 configured as described above. The principle will be briefly described below.
[0022]
As described above, when the objective lens 17 is driven in the Z direction (optical axis direction) by the objective lens moving mechanism 40, the relative distance in the optical axis direction between the focal point of the objective lens 17 and the sample wk changes. When the focal point of the objective lens 17 is focused on the surface of the sample wk, the laser light reflected on the surface of the sample wk is condensed by the imaging lens 18 via the above optical path, and almost all the laser light is It passes through the pinhole of the pinhole plate 9. Therefore, at this time, the amount of light received by the light receiving element 19 is maximized. Conversely, when the focus of the objective lens 17 is shifted from the surface of the sample wk, the laser light condensed by the imaging lens 18 focuses on a position shifted from the pinhole plate 9, so that a part of the laser beam is focused. Only light can pass through the pinhole. As a result, the amount of light received by the light receiving element 19 is significantly reduced.
[0023]
Therefore, if the amount of light received by the light receiving element 19 is detected at any point on the surface of the sample wk while driving the objective lens 17 in the Z direction (optical axis direction), the objective lens 17 when the amount of received light is maximized is detected. (The relative position between the focus of the objective lens 17 and the sample wk in the optical axis direction) can be uniquely obtained as height information.
[0024]
In practice, each time the objective lens 17 is moved by one step (one pitch), the surface of the sample wk is scanned by the horizontal deflection device 14a and the vertical deflection device 14b to obtain the amount of light received by the light receiving element 19. When the objective lens 17 is moved in the Z direction from the lower end to the upper end of the measurement range in the Z direction, light reception amount data that changes according to the Z direction position is obtained for each point (pixel) in the scanning range.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is a graph showing an example of received light amount data that changes according to the Z-direction position of the objective lens 17. Based on such 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 wk on the XY plane is obtained. This process is executed by the control unit 46 using a microcomputer.
[0026]
The obtained surface height distribution information can be displayed on the monitor screen of the display device 47 by several methods. For example, the height distribution (surface shape) of the sample can be displayed three-dimensionally by three-dimensional display. Alternatively, the height data can be converted into luminance data to be displayed as a two-dimensional distribution of brightness. By converting the height data into color difference data, the height distribution can be displayed as a color distribution.
[0027]
Further, a surface image (monochrome image) of the sample wk can be obtained from a luminance signal using the received light amount obtained for each point (pixel) in the XY scanning range as luminance data. If a luminance signal is generated using the maximum amount of received light in each pixel as luminance data, an ultra-deep image with an extremely deep focal depth focused at each point having a different surface height can be obtained. When the height (Z direction position) at which the maximum amount of received light is obtained at an arbitrary target pixel is fixed, the amount of received light of a pixel having a large height difference from the target pixel becomes extremely small. A bright image is obtained only in the portion having the same height as.
[0028]
Next, the non-confocal optical system 3 provided in the confocal microscope and its signal processing will be described. The non-confocal optical system 3 includes a white light source 20, a second collimating lens 21, a first half mirror 22, a second half mirror 23, and a color for irradiating the sample wk with white light (illumination light for capturing a color image). It includes a CCD (image sensor) 24 and the like. In addition, the non-confocal optical system 3 shares the objective lens 17 of the confocal optical system 2, and the optical axes of the two optical systems 1 and 2 partially match.
[0029]
For example, a white lamp is used as the white light source 20, but a special light source may not be 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, the optical path is bent by the first half mirror 22, and is focused on the surface of the sample wk placed on the sample stage 30 by the objective lens 17. .
[0030]
The white light reflected by the sample wk 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, enters the color CCD 24, and forms an image. The color CCD 24 is provided at a position conjugate with or close to the pinhole of the pinhole plate 9 of the confocal optical system 2. 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 AD converter 42 and converted into a digital value. The color image thus obtained is displayed on the monitor screen of the display device 47 as an enlarged color image for observing the sample wk.
[0031]
Further, the super-depth image obtained by the confocal optical system 2 and the normal color image obtained by the non-confocal optical system 3 are combined to obtain a deep color super-depth with a focal depth substantially in focus at all pixels. Images can also be generated and displayed. For example, a color super-depth image is easily generated by replacing the luminance signal forming the color image obtained by the non-confocal optical system 3 with the luminance signal of the super-depth image obtained by the confocal optical system 2. be able to.
[0032]
The controller including the control unit 46 is also in charge of the processing regarding the color image as described above. An input device 48 such as a console (operation console) and a display device 47 such as a CRT (cathode ray tube) or an LCD (liquid crystal display device) are connected to the controller. A pointing device such as a mouse is also connected as the input device 48.
[0033]
Further, the confocal microscope system 1 (controller thereof) of the present embodiment is also provided with an interface for connecting an external computer system such as a personal computer. By connecting an external computer system in which dedicated software for controlling the confocal microscope system 1 is installed to the confocal microscope system 1, processing of acquired image information and height distribution information of the sample wk can be performed seamlessly. It is possible to do.
[0034]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration in which an external computer system 50 is connected to a controller of the confocal microscope system 1. The external computer system 50 includes a display device 51 such as a CRT or LCD, a keyboard 52, a mouse (or another pointing device) 53, a communication interface 54 such as an RS232C, a USB (universal serial bus), IEEE1394, and a processing device (CPU). 55, a main memory 56 as a semiconductor storage medium, a fixed disk device 57 as an auxiliary storage device, and a removable disk device 58.
[0035]
The dedicated software for controlling the confocal microscope system 1 is supplied in a state stored in a storage medium 59 such as a CD-ROM, and is supplied from the storage medium 59 by a removable disk device 58 such as a CD-ROM drive. It is read and installed in the fixed disk device 57. The program installed in the fixed disk device 57 is loaded into the main memory 56 and executed by the processing device 55.
[0036]
The processing executed by such dedicated software includes processing for setting measurement conditions of the confocal microscope system 1 and processing of an image obtained as a result of the measurement. Next, the selection of the scanning mode in the screen display for setting the measurement conditions will be described.
[0037]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen display for setting measurement conditions including selection of a scanning mode. In a screen display 60 displayed on the display device 51, a left area 61 is obtained from a color image obtained from the color CCD 24 of the non-confocal optical system 3 of the confocal microscope system 1 or from a light receiving element 19 of the confocal optical system 2. An area for displaying the obtained confocal image or the measurement result of the height distribution and the like, and on the right side thereof, a vertically long area 62 for setting measurement conditions is displayed.
[0038]
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of an area 62 for setting measurement conditions in the screen display 60 of FIG. A selection block 63 for selecting a scanning mode is provided on the right side of the portion where “scan setting” is displayed. When the downward triangle mark on the right end of the selection block 63 is clicked with the mouse 53, a pull-down menu 64 as shown in FIG. 5 appears. The pull-down menu 64 includes five types of scanning modes of “normal”, “part 1/2”, “part 1/3”, “skip”, and “skip 1/2” as options. One scanning mode can be selected from these options using the mouse 53.
[0039]
“Normal” is a normal scanning mode in which the scanning range is the entire measurement range on the XY plane determined by the optical magnification and the number of scanning lines is the maximum number (for example, 768). In "Part 1/2", the vertical scanning range becomes 1/2 of the central portion of the whole, and the number of scanning lines also becomes 1/2 (for example, 384) accordingly. In “Part 1/3”, the vertical scanning range becomes 1/3 of the central portion of the whole, and the number of scanning lines becomes 1/3 accordingly.
[0040]
In “skip”, the scanning range is the entire measurement range, but the number of scanning lines is halved. That is, the interval between adjacent scanning lines is doubled. In the “skip 1/2”, the interval between adjacent scanning lines is doubled, and the vertical scanning range is the central half of the whole. Therefore, the number of scanning lines is reduced to 1/4. Note that the horizontal scanning range does not change in any of the scanning modes and is equal to the horizontal length of the entire measurement range. If the interval between adjacent scanning lines is doubled due to skipping, pixel data between the scanning lines is generated by interpolation.
[0041]
In FIG. 5, although partially hidden by the pull-down menu 64, "double scan" is displayed below the portion where "scan setting" is displayed, and a check box 65 is provided on the left side. When the user checks this check box 65 with the mouse 53, reciprocal scanning is set for horizontal scanning, and when unchecked, normal one-way scanning is set.
[0042]
As described above, the horizontal deflection device 14a for horizontal scanning is constituted by a resonant (resonant type) scanner, and when a predetermined voltage is applied, the reflection surface of the mirror vibrates at a predetermined frequency in a self-excited manner. Therefore, the time required for the forward path and the return path are the same (half cycle) and the phase changes are the same, so that reciprocal scanning is possible. In the case of performing reciprocal scanning, if the number of horizontal scans per vertical scan is the same as in the case of one-way scanning, apparently twice the number of scanning lines can be obtained, and the measurement accuracy is improved accordingly. Become. Conversely, even if the number of horizontal scans per vertical scan is reduced by half, the apparent number of scan lines is the same, so that the measurement accuracy hardly decreases. If the number of horizontal scans per vertical scan is reduced by half, the time required for the entire measurement is reduced by nearly half.
[0043]
As described above, the user can set one of the five scanning modes and select one-way scanning or reciprocating scanning to set a total of ten scanning methods.
[0044]
FIG. 6 is a table illustrating the vertical scanning range, the number of scanning lines, and the like in each scanning mode. In this example, the number of scanning lines (maximum number) in the normal scanning mode is set to 100. Actually, the number is, for example, 768 as described above. The number of scanning lines in the chart of FIG. 6 corresponds to the apparent number of scanning lines in the case of reciprocal scanning. Therefore, the number of horizontal scans per vertical scan in the case of reciprocal scanning is half that in the case of one-way scanning.
[0045]
In the vertical scanning, drive data is supplied from the galvano scanner drive data memory to the D / A converter by DMA (Direct Memory Access), and the output voltage of the D / A converter is supplied to the drive circuit of the galvano scanner that is the vertical deflection device 14b. This is done by: The number of DMAs at this time corresponds to the number of DMA data in the table of FIG. The numbers in parentheses are the values in the case of reciprocal scanning. In both the one-way scanning and the reciprocating scanning, the number of retrace pulses is set to 10. Therefore, 1/2 of the value obtained by subtracting 10 from the number of DMA data in one-way scanning is equal to the value obtained by subtracting 10 from the number of DMA data in reciprocating scanning.
[0046]
When the vertical scanning range is 1 (entire), the D / A initial value is 0 and the D / A final value is 100. However, when the vertical scanning range is 1/2, the D / A initial value and the final value are set. Are 25 and 75. Similarly, when the vertical scanning range is 1/3, the D / A initial value and the final value are 33 and 66, respectively. That is, scanning starts in the middle of the vertical scanning direction and ends in the middle.
[0047]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure from setting of a scanning method to completion of measurement. Although this flowchart includes both the operation by the user and the processing executed by the processing device 55 according to the program, the distinction will be clarified in the following description.
[0048]
In step # 101, the user selects one-way scanning or reciprocating scanning using the check box 65 in the area 62 for setting measurement conditions on the screen display 60 shown in FIGS. In the following step # 102, the user selects the scanning mode from the pull-down menu 64 displayed in the selection block 63 of the area 62. Note that the order of selection in step # 101 and step # 102 may be reversed.
[0049]
In step # 103, the processing device 55 calculates the galvano offset position data and sets the D / A initial value. The D / A initial value is as described with reference to FIG. In the following step # 104, the processing device 55 creates galvano scanner drive data and writes it in the memory. Further, in step # 105, the number of DMAs and the start address are set in the DMAC (DMA controller), and the DMA is brought into a ready state.
[0050]
In the next step # 106, the processing device 55 sets the one-way scan or the reciprocal scan selected by the user as the number of scanning lines determined in the image capturing circuit, and in the next step # 107, enables the resonance oscillation. After waiting for a predetermined time until oscillation stabilizes in the next step # 108, scanning is started in step # 109. It is checked in step # 110 whether or not the set number of DMAs has been completed. If the DMA has been completed, the scanning is terminated in step # 111 to stop the resonant oscillation.
[0051]
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration relating to control of the vertical deflection device 14b using the galvano scanner. A CPU 70 corresponding to the processing device 55, a ROM 71 storing a control program thereof, and a RAM 72 serving as a working memory are provided. Further, a galvano scanner driving circuit 73, a D / A converter 74 for supplying driving data to the galvano scanner driving circuit 73, and a galvano scanner driving data memory 75 are provided.
[0052]
In the vertical deflection (vertical scanning) using the galvano scanner, drive data is supplied from the galvano scanner drive data memory to the D / A converter by DMA (direct memory access), and the output voltage of the D / A converter is changed by the vertical deflection device 14b. This is performed by being given to a drive circuit of a certain galvano scanner. For this purpose, a DMAC (DAM controller) 76 is provided. The setting of the number of DMAs and the start address in step # 105 of the flowchart of FIG. Further, a position pulse A and a position pulse B output as a sine wave zero cross signal from the resonant scanner constituting the horizontal deflection device 14a are input to the OR gate 77, and the output is input to the DRQ terminal of the DMAC 76. The DMA completion signal is output from the DONE terminal of the DMAC 76, and is input to the INT (interrupt) terminal of the CPU 70.
[0053]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where dedicated software for controlling the confocal microscope system 1 is installed in the external computer system 50 and the setting of the scanning mode selection and the like is performed on the screen of the display device 51 of the external computer system 50 However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, a control program stored in a storage medium such as a ROM built in a controller of the confocal microscope system 1 incorporates a program for manually joining images as in the above-described embodiment, and a display provided as standard equipment in the confocal microscope system 1. Manual stitching of images may be performed using the device 47 and the input device 48.
[0054]
Further, in order to obtain the height information of the surface of the sample wk by the confocal optical system 2, the stage 30 may be moved up and down instead of moving (moving up and down) the objective lens 17 in the Z direction. In addition, the present invention can be implemented in various forms.
[0055]
Although the confocal microscope of the above embodiment is a reflection type microscope, the present invention can also be applied to a transmission type confocal microscope. In the case of a transmission microscope, laser light of a confocal optical system and white light of a non-confocal optical system are irradiated from the back surface of the sample.
The light source of the confocal optical system may be a monochromatic light source including a laser light source, or may include a plurality of wavelengths. The light source of the non-confocal optical system can be replaced by natural light or room light.
[0056]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the confocal microscope system capable of selecting a scan mode of the present invention, a user can select one of a plurality of scan modes at the time of measurement. That is, when priority is given to measurement accuracy, a scanning mode having a large number of scanning lines can be selected, and when priority is given to shortening the measurement time, a scanning mode having a small number of scanning lines can be selected. When the scanning range, which is a substantial measurement range, can be narrowed, the measurement time can be further reduced by selecting a scanning mode in which the scanning range is narrowed. Furthermore, by selecting the reciprocating scanning, the measurement time can be reduced to approximately half, and the measurement accuracy can be higher than in the case of reducing the number of scanning lines to half.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a confocal microscope system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating an example of received light amount data that changes according to the Z-direction position of an objective lens.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example in which an external computer system is connected to a controller of the confocal microscope system.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen display for setting a measurement condition including selection of a scanning mode.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of an area for setting measurement conditions in the screen display of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a table illustrating the vertical scanning range, the number of scanning lines, and the like in each scanning mode.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure from setting of a scanning method to completion of measurement.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration related to control of a vertical deflection device using a galvano scanner.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 confocal microscope system 2 confocal optical system 14a horizontal deflection device (resonant (resonant type) scanner)
14b Vertical deflection device (galvano scanner)
19 light receiving elements 47, 51 display device 60 screen display 64 pull-down menu 65 including a plurality of scanning modes Check box for selecting one-way scanning or reciprocal scanning

Claims (2)

Light from the sample surface within the measurement range determined by the optical magnification is received by the light receiving element via the confocal optical system, and height information and light amount information of the sample surface are obtained based on the received light information, and the obtained information is obtained. A confocal microscope system that displays an image of the sample surface obtained by processing on a screen of a display device,
Regarding scanning of the sample surface by the light of the measurement range, the scanning range can be switched to the whole or a part of the measurement range, and the number of scanning lines can be switched to a maximum number or a reduced number, and the scanning range and A confocal microscope system comprising a plurality of scanning modes determined by a combination of the number of scanning lines, wherein a user can select one of the plurality of scanning modes upon measurement on a screen display. A resonance type scanner is used for horizontal scanning with respect to scanning of the sample surface by the light, the horizontal scanning can be switched to one-way scanning or reciprocating scanning, and the screen display is performed by the user during measurement among the plurality of scanning modes. 2. The confocal microscope system according to claim 1, wherein one of the one-directional scanning and the reciprocal scanning can be selected.

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