JP2005234279A - Dark field illumination device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dark field illumination device to be post mounted to a microscope, which is low-cost and has no constitution for dark field illumination. <P>SOLUTION: The dark field illumination device 140 can be used for the microscope which comprises an objective lens 105 and a sample support part which locates the sample 124 thereon during observation and is loadable/unloadable. The dark field illumination device 140 is provided with an illumination part 141 which has a light emission part of outputting illumination light and is arranged on the sample support part and a reflection part 142 which is loadably/unloadably attached to the outer periphery of the objective lens 105 and reflects the illumination light toward the sample 124. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a dark field illumination device used in a microscope such as a metal microscope.

  Conventionally, there are microscopes that can perform dark field observation in order to observe scratches or the like of an observation sample that is difficult to see in bright field observation. A microscope capable of such dark field observation has a dark field illumination device for illuminating an observation sample.

  Conventionally, as a dark field illumination device, for example, as shown in Patent Documents 1 to 3, a ring-shaped fiber is inserted in an optical path from an illumination light source to an observation sample, and dark field illumination is performed by ring illumination using this fiber. Many devices have been proposed.

  The dark field illumination device of Patent Document 1 is an epi-illumination device for a microscope that illuminates an observation sample with a dark field illumination optical path that surrounds an objective lens and illumination light guided by the dark field illumination optical path. In the dark field illumination device of Patent Document 1, an annular light source that supplies illumination light to a dark field illumination optical path is provided in a revolver.

  The dark field illumination device of Patent Document 2 has a half mirror for introducing epi-illumination light and an exit end of an annular fiber between objective lenses, and an incident end of the fiber at a position conjugate with the light source in the epi-illumination system. Or the aperture stop is arranged to be switchable.

The dark field illumination device of Patent Document 3 is provided in a microscope including an objective lens that is selectively disposed in an observation optical path. The dark field illuminating device of Patent Document 3 is provided with a light transmission means that is detachably provided on an objective lens and includes a light incident part and a light irradiation part that irradiates light from the light incident part onto an object; The light source has a light source that is mechanically separated from the light unit and emits light toward the light incident portion of the light unit.
Japanese Patent No. 3080393 JP 2003-5082 A Japanese Patent No. 3322260

  The dark field illumination device of Patent Document 1 requires a dark field illumination optical path that surrounds the objective lens and a revolver that can be attached to and detached from the microscope body in order to perform dark field illumination. An objective lens having an optical path for dark field illumination has a mounting screw diameter different from that of a general objective lens. Specifically, an objective lens having a dark field illumination optical path has a larger screw diameter than an objective lens not having a dark field illumination optical path. Thus, since the objective lens which does not have a dark field illumination optical path is a special shape, cost will become high. In addition, the detachable revolver is expensive, and if the microscope main body is configured so that the revolver can be attached and detached, the manufacturing cost of the microscope main body itself increases.

  Thus, the dark field illumination device of Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to apply to an inexpensive metal microscope.

  Moreover, since the dark field illumination device of Patent Document 2 employs an objective lens having a dark field illumination optical path as in Patent Document 1, the price of the objective lens becomes high. In addition, a considerable space is required to switch the incident end of the fiber or the aperture stop at a position conjugate with the light source in the epi-illumination system, and the epi-illumination device is often built in the microscope body. Inverted metal microscopes have the disadvantage that the microscope body itself becomes large. In addition, a significant increase in cost is expected by arranging a switching mechanism. For this reason, the dark field illumination device of Patent Document 2 also has a problem that it is difficult to apply to an inexpensive metal microscope.

In addition, the dark field illumination device of Patent Document 3 does not require a dark field illumination optical path surrounding the objective lens or a revolver that can be attached to and detached from the microscope main body. Is done. However, since the illumination means in the dark field illumination device of Patent Document 3 is configured to transmit light between the light incident portion and the light emission portion by a fiber or the like, the price of the illumination means by this configuration is also expensive. turn into. Furthermore, it is necessary to prepare as many illumination means as the number of objective lenses for which dark field observation is desired. For this reason, the microscope system using the dark field illumination device of Patent Document 3 may be expensive as a whole system.
In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a dark field illumination device that is inexpensive and can be retrofitted to a microscope that originally has no configuration for dark field illumination.

The dark field illumination device of the present invention has the following configuration in view of the above problems.
The dark field illumination device of one embodiment of the present invention is used for a microscope having an objective lens and a detachable observation sample support portion on which an observation sample is arranged during observation. The dark field illumination device includes a light emitting unit that outputs illumination light, and is detachably attached to an illumination unit disposed on the observation sample support unit and an outer periphery of the objective lens, and the illumination light is observed in the observation field. A reflecting portion that reflects toward the sample.

  The dark field illumination device according to another aspect of the present invention is used in a microscope having an objective lens and an observation sample support portion on which an observation sample is arranged during observation. This dark field illumination device includes a light emitting unit that outputs illumination light, and includes an illumination unit disposed on the observation sample support unit. The light emitting unit is arranged to emit the illumination light toward the observation sample.

  The dark field illumination device according to still another aspect of the present invention is used in a microscope having an objective lens and an observation sample support portion on which an observation sample is arranged during observation. The dark field illumination device is disposed on the opposite side of the objective lens from the light transmission portion provided in the observation sample support portion with respect to the objective lens with respect to the objective lens. An illumination unit that emits light to the objective lens side through the transmission unit; and a reflection unit that is detachably attached to the outer periphery of the objective lens and reflects light from the illumination unit toward the observation sample. ing.

  The present invention can provide a dark field illumination device that is inexpensive and can be retrofitted to a microscope that originally has no configuration for dark field illumination.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are overall configuration diagrams when the dark field illumination apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied to an inverted metal microscope, FIG. 1 is a side view, and FIG. 2 is a plan view. Show.

  1 and 2 includes a main body 101 that is a main body of the inverted microscope 1, a revolver base 103 that supports the revolver 104, a bright field illumination device 106, a lens barrel 117, a binocular unit 119, A stage 121 on which the observation sample 124 is arranged and a dark field illumination device 140 are provided. The revolver base 103 is fixed to the main body 101 like a known microscope, and the stage 121 and the lens barrel 117 are detachably attached to the main body 101 like a known microscope. The binocular unit 119 is rotatably supported by the lens barrel 117.

  The main body 101 has a focusing handle 102 for driving the revolver base 103 up and down. The revolver base 103 has a revolver 104 having a mounting hole to which a plurality of objective lenses 105 can be attached. For simplification of the drawing, only one objective lens 105 is shown in FIG. Similar to the known revolver, the revolver 104 is configured so that one of a plurality of attached objective lenses 105 can be selectively placed in the observation optical path of the inverted microscope. The objective lens 105 condenses light from the observation sample 124 when the image of the observation sample 124 is observed.

  The main body 101 guides the light beam from the objective lens 105 to the lens barrel 117 to which the binocular unit 119 is connected so that the image of the observation sample 124 can be observed by the binocular unit 119. In order to guide the light beam from the objective lens 105 to the lens barrel 117, the main body 101 sequentially forms the imaging lens 112, the mirror 113, the relay optical system front group 114, the prism 115a, and the relay optics in order from the objective lens 105 side. System rear group 116, and these are built in. The relay optical system rear group 116 causes the light beam from the prism 115 a to enter the lens barrel 117. The main body 101 has an optical element slot 111 for inserting an optical element such as a polarizing element in the optical path between the objective lens 105 and the imaging lens 112.

  The bright field illumination device 106 is illumination means for performing bright field observation, and includes an illumination light source 106a such as a halogen lamp and an epi-illumination projection tube 107 having an optical system that guides light from the illumination light source 106a. Yes. The epi-illumination projection tube 107 is an optical for inserting a half mirror 108 that reflects light from the illumination light source 106a in the direction of the objective lens 105, a filter that adjusts the intensity of light from the illumination light source 106a, a polarizing element, and the like. Element slots 109 and 110. That is, the half mirror 108 and the optical element slots 109 and 110 are constituent units of the incident light projection tube 107. The epi-illumination projection tube 107 can be inserted and fixed to the main body 101 from the back surface (left side surface in FIG. 1) of the main body 101. With this configuration, the bright field illumination device 106 can irradiate the observation site of the observation sample 124 with the light beam from the illumination light source 106 a along the optical axis of the objective lens 105.

  One end of the lens barrel 117 is detachably attached to the front upper surface (upper right part in FIG. 1) of the main body 101, and the other end is connected to the binocular part 119. The lens barrel 117 includes an imaging lens 118 and a prism 115b in that order from the main body 101 side. The imaging lens 118 is arranged so that a light beam from the relay optical system rear group 116 in the main body 101 can enter, and an observation image is formed by the incident light beam. The prism 115 b causes the light beam from the imaging lens 118 to enter the binocular unit 119.

  The binocular unit 119 is an observation means for an observer to observe the observation sample 124 with both eyes. One end of the binocular unit 119 is connected to the lens barrel 117, and two eyepieces 120 are detachably attached to the other end. Yes. Each eyepiece 120 is arranged so that the light beam from the prism 115b can enter.

  The stage 121 is an observation sample support unit that supports the observation sample 124 during observation, and is fixed to the front side (right side in FIG. 1) and the back side (left side in FIG. 1) of the main body 101, and is substantially horizontal. It has an upper surface (upper surface in FIG. 1). The stage 121 has an opening 121a penetrating along the optical axis of the objective lens 105 (vertical direction in FIG. 1) at the center in the direction along the upper surface. The stage 121 has a center seat 122 that is detachably attached to the opening 121a.

  The center seat 122 has a substantially horizontal upper surface, and an opening 122a penetrating along the optical axis of the objective lens 105 (vertical direction in FIG. 1) in the center in the direction along the upper surface. Have. An observation sample 124 is placed on the upper surface of the center seat 122 via a sample plate 123. The sample plate 123 is configured to be movable along the upper surface of the center seat 122.

  The sample plate 123 has an upper surface on which the observation sample 124 is placed, and has an opening 123a penetrating along the optical axis at the center. The observation sample 124 to be observed is arranged on the upper surface of the sample plate 123 at a position facing the opening 123a. As shown in FIG. 2, the stage 121 has a moving mechanism that moves the sample plate 123 along the upper surface of the center seat 122. The moving mechanism 125 is omitted in FIG. 1 for simplification of the drawing.

  The moving mechanism 125 is a moving unit that moves the observation sample 124 through the sample plate 123 along the horizontal plane along the X axis (vertical direction in FIG. 2) and the Y axis (horizontal direction in FIG. 2). . The moving mechanism 125 includes a fixed portion 126 fixed to the stage 121, a moving portion 127 movable along the Y axis with respect to the fixed portion 126, an operation handle 128 provided on the lower surface of the moving portion 127, A clenmel 129 that can move along the X-axis with respect to the moving unit 127 and a claw portion 130 for holding the sample plate 123 with an appropriate urging force at the tip of the clenmel 129 are provided. The moving unit 127 moves along the X axis and the Y axis according to the operation of the operation handle 128. In other words, the operation handle 128 controls the movement of the moving unit 127 along the Y axis and the movement along the X axis by a rotation operation.

  The center seat 122 has a dark field illumination attachment portion 122b to which a dark field illumination device 140, which will be described later, is attached. The dark field illumination attachment portion 122b is an annular recess provided on the lower surface of the center seat 122, and is provided around the opening 122a concentrically with the opening 122a.

  Next, the dark field illumination device 140 will be described. The dark field illumination device 140 is dark field illumination means for performing dark field observation with the inverted microscope 1. The dark field illumination device 140 includes an illumination unit 141 and a reflection unit 142. The illuminating unit 141 includes an annular substrate 141a having a hollowed central portion, and a large number of light emitting diode (LED) light sources 141b mounted in a ring shape on the substrate 141a. This illumination part 141 is attached to the dark field illumination attachment part 122b. Specifically, the substrate 141a is attached to the dark field illumination attachment portion 122b. Each LED light source 141b outputs illumination light. A condensing lens is attached to the tip of each LED light source 141b. For this reason, the LED light source 141b is configured to output illumination light with appropriate directivity by the condenser lens. In the present embodiment, each LED light source 141 b is set so as to emit light toward the reflecting portion 142.

  The reflection unit 142 is configured in a ring shape and is detachably attached to the objective lens 105. The reflecting portion 142 has a reflecting surface 142a. The reflection surface 142a is configured to reflect the light from the illumination unit 141 toward the observation sample 124. Specifically, the reflecting surface 142a is formed in a ring shape along the outer periphery of the objective lens 105, is inclined inward (toward the objective lens 105 side), and is on the optical axis of the objective lens 105. In the cross section along, the cross-sectional shape is formed to have a curved concave shape.

  The operation of the inverted microscope 1 having the dark field illumination device 140 of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described. When performing bright field observation with the inverted microscope 1, the bright field illumination device 106 outputs illumination light. Specifically, the illumination light source 106a outputs light. The illumination light from the illumination light source 106 a is adjusted to a state suitable for observation by the incident light projection tube 107 and enters the objective lens 105. Specifically, the intensity of the illumination light is adjusted by a filter or the like in the optical element slots 109 and 110, and then reflected by the half mirror 108 and incident on the objective lens 105.

  The light incident on the objective lens 105 is collected by the objective lens 105 and irradiated on the observation sample 124. The light reflected by the observation sample 124 is incident on the objective lens 105 again, undergoes an image forming action, becomes a parallel light beam, and further passes through the half mirror 108, the optical element slot 111, and the image forming lens 112, and then relays by the mirror 113. Reflected toward the optical system front group 114, the intermediate image 11 is formed. The light forming the intermediate image 11 is further relayed by the relay optical system front group 114 and enters the prism 115a. The prism 115 a causes the light beam from the relay optical system front group 114 to enter the relay optical system rear group 116. The light beam incident on the relay optical system rear group 116 becomes a parallel light beam again by the relay optical system rear group 116. The parallel light beam is imaged by the imaging lens 118 in the lens barrel 117, and is observed by each of the eyepiece lenses 120 attached to the binocular unit 119 via the prism 115b. In this way, the inverted microscope 1 can perform bright field observation.

  Next, a case where dark field observation is performed with the inverted microscope 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the objective lens 105 in the inverted microscope 1 shown in FIG. First, the dark field illumination device 140 outputs illumination light. Specifically, the LED light source 141b outputs light. The light from the LED light source 141b is ring-shaped, and is output at a certain spread angle vertically downward toward the reflecting surface 142a. The reflection surface 142a has a curved concave shape and is formed inward. For this reason, the light from the LED light source 141 b receives a certain degree of light condensing action toward the observation sample 124. Therefore, the light from the LED light source 141b is reflected toward the observation position of the observation sample 124 (the optical axis center of the objective lens 105) in a state where the spread angle is smaller than that at the time of emission. Since the light beam reflected by the reflecting surface 142a is irradiated to the observation position from the outside of the objective lens 105, the light regularly reflected on the surface of the observation sample 124 does not enter the objective lens 105. That is, the light (0th order diffracted light) directly reflected by the observation sample 124 does not enter the objective lens 105 and enters a dark field illumination state. Therefore, the light beam reflected by the reflecting surface 142a performs dark field illumination.

  When dust or scratches are present on the surface of the observation sample 124, the light beam reflected by the reflecting surface 142 a is diffracted and enters the objective lens 105. The light incident on the objective lens 105 in this way can be sequentially observed through the optical path in the same way as in the bright field observation described above, and finally can be observed by the observer through the eyepiece lens 120 as a dark field.

  As described above, the dark field illumination device 140 according to the present embodiment includes the illumination unit 141 fixed to the center seat 122 detachable from the stage 121 and the reflection unit 142 detachable from the objective lens 105. It is configured. For this reason, in an inexpensive inverted microscope that does not have a configuration for dark field illumination, the center is replaced with the center 122 having the illumination unit 141, and the reflecting unit 142 is added to the objective lens 105 of the inexpensive inverted microscope. It is possible to make dark field observation possible by wearing. As described above, the dark field illumination device 140 of the present embodiment can be easily and inexpensively retrofitted to a microscope having no configuration for dark field illumination so that the microscope can perform dark field observation.

  In the present embodiment, the illumination unit 141 is fixed to the center seat 122, but may be fixed to the stage 121. In a general microscope, the stage 121 is configured to be detachable from the main body 101 of the microscope. Therefore, even when the illumination unit 141 is fixed or built in the stage 121, a dark field illumination light source can be added to the conventional microscope by exchanging the stage. In addition, when the illumination part 141 is attached to the stage 121, it is also preferable to change the angle and shape of the reflective surface 142a according to the attachment position of the illumination part 141 so that an observation site | part can be illuminated with sufficient light quantity. Note that the illumination unit 141 may be built in, instead of being detachably fixed to the center seat 122 later.

  In the present embodiment, the shape of the reflecting surface 142a is a curved concave surface and is inclined inward. However, the illumination light from the LED light source 141b is exactly the same as that of the observation sample 124, depending on the type of magnification of the objective lens. Any shape can be used as long as the shape is irradiated near the observation position.

  Further, the reflection surface 142a may not be a perfect mirror surface but may have a frost effect with a slightly rough surface. In this case, the illumination light from the LED light source 141b can irradiate the observation sample 124 more uniformly, so that illumination with less unevenness is possible.

  Further, the reflection unit 142 can be attached to all the objective lenses 105 attached to the revolver 104 or can be attached only to an arbitrary objective lens 105. When the reflection unit 142 is attached to a plurality of objective lenses 105, the reflection unit 142 is configured not to interfere with the reflection unit 142 attached to the adjacent objective lens 105.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the LED light sources 141b that are the light emitting portions are arranged in a ring shape. However, if the observation site can be illuminated with a sufficient amount of light via the reflecting surface 142a, the arrangement and the number of the light sources are not limited. There is no limit.

  Since the light emission part of this Embodiment is comprised by LED light source 141b, while being able to comprise illumination light source itself very cheaply, by selecting the characteristic and quantity of LED light source 141b, Desired dark field illumination can be tailored freely. In addition, the light emission part of this Embodiment can also be set as the structure which outputs light by light sources other than LED light source 141b.

Below, the modification of this Embodiment is demonstrated.
(Modification)
A modification of the dark field illumination device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The dark field illumination device 150 of this modification includes an illumination unit 155 including an illumination light source 151 and a plurality of fiber bundles 152 instead of the illumination unit 141.
The illumination light source 151 is a known light source such as a halogen lamp. The fiber bundle 152 is a light transmission unit that guides the light flux from the illumination light source 151 so as to be applied to the reflection surface 142a. The fiber bundle 152 has an entrance end 152a and an exit end 152b. The incident end 152a is connected to the illumination light source 151. The light output from the illumination light source 151 is incident on the incident end 152a. The exit end 152b is an end that emits light from the entrance end 152a, and is separated into each fiber 153 constituting the fiber bundle 152 one by one.

  The tip of each fiber 153 is arranged and fixed in a ring shape in the dark field illumination mounting portion 122b of the center seat 122, like the above-described LED light source 141b. A condensing lens 153 a is attached to the tip of each fiber 153. Thereby, the tip of each fiber 153 can output light with appropriate directivity. The tip of each fiber 153 is set so that light can be emitted toward the reflecting portion 142 by the condenser lens 153a in the same manner as the LED light source 141b described above. That is, the tip of each fiber 153 constitutes a light emitting part.

With the above-described configuration, the light emitted from the tip of each fiber 153 is irradiated from the outside of the objective lens 105 to the observation position and is in a dark field illumination state. Therefore, the dark field illumination device 150 of the present modification also has the same function as the dark field illumination device 140 of the first embodiment. That is, the dark field illumination device 150 of the modified example can be retrofitted to a microscope that does not have a configuration for dark field illumination in a simple and inexpensive manner, like the dark field illumination device 140, and can perform dark field observation of the microscope. You can do so.
Furthermore, since the light emission part of this modification is comprised by the front-end | tip of each fiber 153, it can be made compact compared with the case where an LED light source is used.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the dark field illumination device 200 according to the second embodiment will be described. The dark field illumination device 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 when applied to an inverted metal microscope as in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the same configurations as those of the first embodiment or the modified example thereof are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The dark field illumination device 200 according to the present embodiment includes an illumination unit 155 that includes an illumination light source 151 and a plurality of fiber bundles 152, as in the modification of the first embodiment. Note that, in the center 122 of the present embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the dark field illumination mounting portion 201 is such that the irradiated light directly enters the opening 122a and irradiates the observation position. It is configured. Further, the emission end 152b is attached to the dark field illumination attachment portion 201, and is arranged so that light can be irradiated to the opening portion 122a side.

  The distal end of the fiber 153 is set so that the emitted illumination light can be directly irradiated onto the observation position of the observation sample 124 by the condenser lens 153a. More specifically, the tip of the fiber 153 is configured to irradiate the observation position on the optical axis center of the objective lens 105 with illumination light.

  With the above configuration, the dark field illumination device 200 of the present embodiment emits illumination light from the illumination light source 151 from the emission end 152b, as in the first modification. Light from each fiber 153 at the emission end 152 b is irradiated toward the opening 122 a of the center seat 122. As described above, the dark field illumination mounting portion 201 is configured such that the irradiated light directly enters the opening 122a and irradiates the observation position. The observation position is directly irradiated from the outside of the lens 105. As described above, in the dark field illumination device 200 of the present embodiment, the light irradiated to the observation sample 124 is light irradiated from the outside of the objective lens 105, as in the first embodiment and the modification thereof. Therefore, the light reflected as it is from the surface of the observation sample 124 does not enter the objective lens 105 and is in a so-called dark field illumination state. Therefore, the dark field illumination device 200 of the present embodiment is retrofitted to a microscope having no configuration for dark field illumination in a simple and inexpensive manner, as in the first embodiment and its modifications. Visual field observation can be performed.

  Moreover, since the dark field illumination device 200 of the present embodiment directly irradiates the observation sample 124 with the light from the illumination light source 151 without using the reflection unit 142, the light from the illumination light source 151 is more efficiently observed. 124 can be irradiated. The dark field illumination device 200 according to the present embodiment does not require the reflection unit 142 attached to the outer periphery of the objective lens 105, and thus has an advantage that it can be configured more inexpensively than the first embodiment. ing.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a case where the dark field illumination apparatus 300 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is applied to an inverted metal microscope will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the inverted microscope 1 to which the dark field illumination device 300 of the present embodiment is attached. In addition, the inverted microscope 1 of this Embodiment has a well-known transmission illumination apparatus. Note that the dark field illumination device 300 of the present embodiment is configured by adding a reflection unit 142 and an attachment 320 described later to the transmission illumination device 160. In the present embodiment, the same configurations as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

The transmitted illumination device 160 includes a transmitted illumination support column 161, a transmitted illumination unit 162, and a transmitted illumination light source 163.
The transmitted illumination support column 161 is attached to the rear part of the stage 121 and supports the transmitted illumination unit 162 so that the transmitted illumination unit 162 is arranged vertically above the objective lens 105. The transmitted illumination light source 163 is a known light source such as halogen, and is connected to the transmitted illumination unit 162 and outputs light to the transmitted illumination unit 162.

  The transmission illumination unit 162 collects the light from the transmission illumination light source 163 into a parallel light beam, and a condenser for efficiently irradiating the observation sample 124 for transmission illumination with the parallel light beam from the collector lens 164. A lens 165.

Next, the attachment 320 will be described.
The attachment 320 includes a conical mirror 321 and an attachment reflecting portion 322, and is detachably attached to the transmitted illumination unit 162. The conical mirror 321 has a conical shape, and is configured to reflect light from the condenser lens 165 radially in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the objective lens 105. The attachment reflecting portion 322 is configured in an annular shape, and is configured to reflect the light from the conical mirror 321 toward the reflecting surface 142 a of the reflecting portion 142 attached to the objective lens 105.

The center seat 330 of the present embodiment has a configuration different from that of the center seat 122 of the first embodiment so that the light from the attachment reflector 322 can enter the reflecting surface 142a. Yes.
The middle seat 330 has an opening 122a similar to the middle seat 122, and has a ring-shaped opening 331 around the opening 122a. The ring-shaped opening 331 is a through hole, and is disposed in the optical path between the attachment reflection part 322 and the reflection surface 142a of the light from the attachment reflection part 322 described above. Therefore, the light from the aforementioned attachment reflecting portion 322 can pass through the ring-shaped opening 331 and enter the reflecting surface 142a.

  In addition, the sample plate 123 of the present embodiment is made of a transparent material having optical transparency. Note that the position of the sample plate 123 can be adjusted by the moving mechanism 125 as in the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the reflector 142 is configured to reflect the light from the attachment reflector 322 from the outside of the objective lens 105 to the observation site, as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the transmission illumination device 160, the attachment 320, and the reflection unit 142 constitute the dark field illumination device 300.

  Below, an effect | action of the inverted microscope 1 with which the dark field illumination device 300 of this Embodiment was mounted | worn is demonstrated. When performing dark field observation with the inverted microscope 1, first, the transmitted illumination light source 163 outputs illumination light. Light from the transmitted illumination light source 163 enters the transmitted illumination unit 162, and enters the attachment 320 via the collector lens 164 and the condenser lens 165.

  The light beam incident on the attachment 320 is reflected toward the reflection unit 142 by the attachment reflection unit 322 via the conical mirror 321. The reflected light beam is converged so as to be incident on the reflecting surface 142a with a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the attachment reflecting portion 322.

  The light beam reflected by the attachment reflecting portion 322 as described above passes through the sample plate 123 and the ring-shaped opening 331, and enters the reflecting surface 142a. As described above, the light incident on the reflection surface 142a illuminates the observation site as dark field illumination light.

  Therefore, in the dark field illumination device 300 of the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the dark field observation can be performed easily and inexpensively after being added to a microscope having no configuration for dark field illumination. You can do so.

  In addition, since the dark field illumination device 300 of the present embodiment can also use the transmitted illumination light source 163 as a dark field illumination light source as it is, it is not necessary to add an illumination light source for dark field illumination. Therefore, the dark field illumination device 300 of the present embodiment can add a dark field illumination function at a low cost by a microscope having the transmitted illumination light source 163.

  Moreover, since the dark field illumination device 300 of the present embodiment is not configured to incorporate or fix a dark field light source in the center seat 330, the center seat 330 can be configured to be very thin. For this reason, the dark-field illumination device 300 of the present embodiment causes the objective lens 105 and the middle seat 330 to interfere even when the high-magnification and high-resolution objective lens 105 with a short working distance (working distance) is used. Can be used without Note that when the high-magnification and high-resolution objective lens 105 is used, the reflection surface 142a can illuminate the observation site with the same amount of light as when the low-magnification objective lens 105 is used. It is preferable to optimize the shape. For example, the reflecting surface 142b in FIG. 7 optimized for high magnification has a shorter working distance in the direction along the optical axis of the objective lens 105 than the reflecting surface 142a in FIG. Accordingly, the reflecting surface 142b in FIG. 7 can illuminate with a sufficient amount of light even when the working distance is short.

  Further, the center seat 330 of the present embodiment causes the light from the attachment reflecting portion 322 to enter the reflecting surfaces 142a and 142b by passing through the ring-shaped opening 331. In addition, you may comprise this center seat 330 with the material which can permeate | transmit light like glass. In the case of this configuration, the central seat 330 is similarly provided with the central opening 122a, but it is not necessary to provide the ring-shaped opening 331 because it is made of a light-transmitting material. Therefore, the central seat 330 of this configuration can be manufactured more easily because it is not necessary to process the ring-shaped opening 331. In addition, when the center seat 330 is made of a light-transmitting material, it is not possible to block the light by painting the portion other than the portion where the central opening 122a and the ring-shaped opening 331 are disposed with black or the like. It is preferable because light unnecessary for observation can be prevented from entering the observation region.

  In the first to third embodiments of the present invention, the dark field illumination device is applied to an inverted metal microscope. However, the dark field illumination device is also applicable to an upright metal microscope. In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an inverted microscope to which the dark field illumination device according to the first embodiment is applied. FIG. 2 is a top view showing the inverted microscope of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view in which the vicinity of the objective lens of the inverted microscope of FIG. 1 is enlarged. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a dark field illumination device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a dark field illumination device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a modification of the third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inverted microscope, 101 ... Main body, 102 ... Focusing handle, 103 ... Revolver base, 104 ... Revolver, 105 ... Objective lens, 106 ... Bright field illumination device, 106a ... Illumination light source, 107 ... Incident light projection tube, 108 ... Half mirror 109 ... Optical element slot 11 ... Intermediate image 111 ... Optical element slot 112 ... Image forming lens 113 ... Mirror 114 ... Relay optical system front group 115a ... Prism 115b ... Prism 116 Rear system group, 117: lens barrel, 118: imaging lens, 119 ... binocular part, 120 ... eyepiece, 121 ... stage, 122, 330 ... center, 121a, 122a, 123a ... opening, 122b ... dark field illumination Mounting portion, 123 ... sample plate, 124 ... observed sample, 125 ... moving mechanism, 126 ... fixing portion, 127 ... moving portion, 128 ... manipulation Handle, 129 ... Clemmel, 130 ... Claw part, 133a ... Reflecting surface, 140, 150, 200, 300 ... Dark field illumination device, 141, 155 ... Illuminating part, 141a ... Substrate, 141b ... LED light source, 142 ... Reflecting part, 142a ... reflective surface 151 ... illumination light source 152 ... fiber bundle 152a ... incident end 152b ... exit end 153 ... fiber 153a ... condensing lens 160 ... transmission illumination device 161 ... transmission illumination column 162 ... transmission Illumination unit, 163 ... transmission illumination light source, 164 ... collector lens, 165 ... condenser lens, 201 ... dark field illumination mounting part, 305 ... condenser lens, 310a ... central opening, 320 ... attachment, 321 ... conical mirror, 322 ... Attachment reflector, 331, ring-shaped opening.

Claims (6)

A dark field illumination device used for a microscope having an objective lens and a detachable observation sample support portion on which an observation sample is arranged at the time of observation,
An illumination unit that has a light emitting unit that outputs illumination light and is disposed on the observation sample support unit;
A reflection unit that is detachably attached to the outer periphery of the objective lens and reflects the illumination light toward the observation sample;
A dark field illumination device comprising: The observation sample support part has a stage and a center,
The dark field illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit is disposed on at least one of the stage and the center. A dark field illumination device used for a microscope having an objective lens and a detachable observation sample support portion on which an observation sample is arranged at the time of observation,
It has a light emission part that outputs illumination light, and comprises an illumination part arranged on the observation sample support part, so that the light emission part emits the illumination light toward the observation sample, Arranged dark field illumination device. The illumination unit includes an illumination light source and a fiber that guides light from the illumination light source,
The fiber is connected to an illumination light source, and has an incident end on which illumination light from the illumination light source is incident, and an exit end that emits illumination light from the incident end,
The dark field illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the emission end constitutes a light emission unit.   The dark field illumination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light emitting unit is configured by a light emitting diode. A dark field illumination device used for a microscope having an objective lens and a detachable observation sample support portion on which an observation sample is arranged at the time of observation,
A light transmission part provided in the observation sample support part;
An illuminating unit that is disposed on the opposite side of the objective lens with the observation sample support unit sandwiched between the optical axis of the objective lens and emits light to the objective lens side through the light transmission unit;
A reflection unit that is detachably attached to the outer periphery of the objective lens, and reflects light from the illumination unit toward the observation sample;
A dark field illumination device comprising:

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