JPH07333509A - Optical microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an optical microscope capable of previously preventing the damage on a prism without spoiling safety and having the high utilization efficiency of the energy of a laser beam. CONSTITUTION:This optical microscope 1 is provided with a direct observation optical system for directly observing an examined object, and a laser beam machining optical system capable of irradiating the examined object with the laser beam. In the microscope 1, a prism 25 arranged at a specified position C where the observation optical path P3 of the direct observation optical system and the laser beam optical path P4 of the laser beam machining optical system are crossed each other, and a shutter 28 intercepting the optical path P4 so that the prism 25 is not irradiated with the laser beam are made movable. In the case of the laser beam machining, the prism 25 and the shutter 28 are retreated from the optical path P4, thereby preventing the laser beam from being absorbed and dispersed by the prism 25, and the prism 25 from being damaged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an optical microscope. More specifically, the present invention relates to an optical microscope capable of observing and inspecting an object to be inspected and correcting or trimming a defective portion thereof.

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART As one of optical microscopes, in addition to a direct observation optical system that irradiates an inspection object with light and visually observes its reflected light or transmitted light through an eyepiece, laser light is also applied to the inspection object. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a laser-mounted microscope that is equipped with a laser processing optical system that is capable of irradiation and that observes and inspects an inspection target with a direct observation optical system. According to such a laser-mounted microscope, when a defective portion is found, the optical path can be immediately switched from the direct observation optical system to the laser processing optical system, and the defective portion can be corrected by the laser light from the laser processing optical system. it can. In such a laser-mounted microscope, the observation optical path of the direct observation optical system and the laser optical path of the laser processing optical system are intersected, and a cube prism is arranged at a predetermined position where these optical paths intersect. With this cube prism, the optical path of the direct observation optical system is bent, while the optical path of the laser processing optical system is a straight line that simply passes through the cube prism. By adopting these optical paths, the direct observation optical system and the laser processing optical system can share the objective lens, so that it is possible to easily switch from one to the other.

Further, in the laser-mounted microscope, when the operator looks into the eyepiece during the work of repairing the defective portion by the laser light, the laser light reflected from the inspection object passes directly through the eyepiece of the observation optical system. May damage the retina of the operator's eye. For this reason, there is provided a shutter that blocks the optical path of the direct observation optical system when the defective portion is repaired by the laser light. In addition, a double safety structure such as attaching a laser light blocking filter to the eyepiece lens is adopted so that safety can be ensured even if the shutter fails.

[0004]

However, since the cube prism is arranged at a predetermined position where the observation optical path of the direct observation optical system and the laser optical path of the laser processing optical system intersect with each other, during processing, the laser light causes the cube prism to travel. There is a risk that the laser light will damage the cube prism. Further, since the laser light to be irradiated on the inspection object is absorbed and dispersed by the cube prism, the energy of the laser light is lost and the utilization efficiency of the laser energy is not good.

An object of the present invention is to provide an optical microscope capable of preventing damage to a prism in advance, without sacrificing safety, and having high utilization efficiency of energy of laser light.

[0006]

The present invention is capable of irradiating an object to be inspected with light and observing the reflected light or transmitted light thereof through an eyepiece and a direct observation optical system capable of irradiating the object to be inspected with laser light. A laser processing optical system, a prism arranged at a predetermined position where the observation optical path of the direct observation optical system and the laser optical path of the laser processing optical system intersect, and a laser beam Shutter to block the laser beam path, a prism moving mechanism that movably supports the prism between a prism retracted position out of the laser beam path and the predetermined position, and a shutter to block the laser beam path. And a shutter moving mechanism that movably supports the shutter moving position between the shutoff position and the shutter retracted position deviated from the laser optical path. . In the above, in the prism moving mechanism, a driven portion to which a driving force for driving the prism moving mechanism is applied, and an interlocked position which is an intermediate position between the prism retracted position and the predetermined position and which is out of the laser optical path. It is desirable to provide an interlocking part that engages with the shutter moving mechanism and interlocks the shutter with the movement of the prism. The prism moving mechanism includes a swing arm to which the prism is fixed, and a frame that swingably supports the swing arm, and a support shaft of the frame that supports the swing arm is the frame. It is possible to move in the axial direction with respect to
A handle that is the driven portion is fixed to one end of the frame, and one of a fitting protrusion and a fitting hole that can be fitted by moving the support shaft along the axial direction is provided on the handle. , The other one of the fitting protrusion and the other fitting hole that fits with one of the fitting protrusion and the fitting hole of the handle at each of the predetermined position and the prism retreat position is adopted. it can.

[0007]

According to the present invention as described above, the prism is moved to a predetermined position and the shutter is moved to a blocking position for observation by operating the prism moving mechanism and the shutter moving mechanism. As a result, the optical path of the direct observation optical system is formed to enable direct observation, and even if the laser is irradiated in this state, the laser light is blocked by the shutter, so that the inspection target is irradiated with the laser light. Therefore, damage to the eyes of the operator is prevented. On the other hand, in processing,
The prism is moved to the prism retracted position and the shutter is moved to the shutter retracted position. As a result, the optical path of the laser processing optical system is formed, and the inspection target can be processed by the laser. In this state, the prism and the shutter are located out of the optical path, and the laser light travels through the optical path of the laser processing optical system without passing through the prism.Therefore, there is no risk of damage to the prism and irradiation of the inspection object The desired laser light is not absorbed or dispersed by the prism. Moreover, since the prism is located out of the optical path of the direct observation optical system, even if the shutter is out of the optical path of the laser processing optical system, the laser light reflected from the inspection object is the eyepiece of the direct observation optical system. And the risk of damaging the operator's eyes, and thereby achieving the aforementioned objectives.

[0008]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an optical microscope 1 of this embodiment.
The optical microscope 1 includes a stage 2 that is movable in two axial directions in a horizontal plane (a moving mechanism is not shown), and a column 3 that extends in the vertical direction of the stage 2. Is to have. Of these, the column 3 supports the microscope unit 4. The microscope unit 4 includes the support column 3
It is attached to the column 3 via an elevating device 5 that is vertically slidable, and is movable in the up and down direction by rotating the elevating knob 6 of the elevating device 5.

The microscope unit 4 has a first casing 7A fixed to the elevating device 5 and a second casing 7B arranged above the first casing 7A. Of these, a plurality of types of objective lenses 8A, 8B, 8C having different magnifying powers are attached to the lower part of the first housing 7A via a revolver 9. The revolver 9 is rotatably provided on the first housing 7A, and the revolver 9 allows the objective lenses 8A, 8B, and 8C to be selectively arranged on the common optical path P ₁ . First
An illumination light source 10 is provided on the upper surface of the casing 7A in the vicinity of the right end in the drawing, and a beam splitter 11 and a tube lens 12 are arranged on the common optical path P ₁ inside the first casing 7A. In addition, the lens 13 and the mirror 14 are arranged on the illumination optical path P ₂ along which the light from the illumination light source 10 travels. Light from the illumination light source 10 is reflected by the mirror 14 and is incident on the beam splitter 11.

A binocular barrel 22 having a pair of eyepieces 21 is attached to the front surface of the second housing 7B along an observation optical path P ₃ which is inclined with respect to the common optical path P ₁ . A laser oscillator 24 is attached to the upper surface of the second housing 7B via a laser adapter 23. Here, the laser light path P ₄ through which the laser light from the laser oscillator 24 travels is connected to the common light path P ₁ in a straight line. Inside the second housing 7B, a cube prism 25 arranged at the upper end of the common optical path P ₁ ,
A roof prism 26 adjacent to the left side of the cube prism 25 in the figure and a cube prism 27 adjacent to the right side of the roof prism 26 in the upper right direction of the figure are provided. Of these, the cube prism 25 is arranged at a predetermined position where the observation optical path P ₃ and the laser optical path P ₄ intersect. The observation optical path P ₃ is bent in a zigzag manner and is connected to the common optical path P ₁ by these prisms 25 to 27. Among these, a rectangular shutter 28 is provided above the cube prism 25 in the figure so as to block the laser light path P ₄ so that the laser light does not hit the cube prism 25.

2 to 4, a mounting mechanism 30 for mounting the roof prism 26, a shutter moving mechanism 40 for movably supporting the shutter 28, and a cube prism.
A prism movement mechanism 50 for movably supporting 25 is shown enlarged. The cube prism 27 is
It is glued to the roof prism 26. That is, the mounting mechanism
The reference numeral 30 includes a mounting member 31 having a substantially π shape in a plane. The bottom 31A of the mounting member 31 is fixed to the bottom surface 7C of the second housing 7B with bolts 32, and the pair of parallel sides 31B sandwich the roof prism 26 from both sides. Shutter movement mechanism 40
Is an arm extending downward from one edge of the shutter 28 in FIG.
A lower end portion 41A of 41 is swingably supported by a support shaft 42 provided on a frame 52 of a prism moving mechanism 50 described later. With this shutter moving mechanism 40, the shutter 28 is controlled to block the laser beam path P ₄ and the blocking position A and the laser beam path P 4.
It is movable between the shutter retreat position B and the position ₄ apart from the above. The shutter moving mechanism 40 includes a hooking portion 4 formed of a bolt or the like protruding from the side surface of the arm 41 and the attachment mechanism 30.
3, 44, a stopper 45 such as a potato screw protruding from the inner side surface of the frame 52 of the prism moving mechanism 50, and a hooking portion 4
A coil spring 46 is provided so as to bridge between the three and 44. As a result, the shutter 28 is urged by the coil spring 46 toward the mounting mechanism 30 side, and the position of the shutter 28 is regulated by the stopper 45 to stop at the blocking position A, while the coil spring 46 is stopped.
When a force against the biasing force of 46 is applied, the shutter retracted position B
It is designed to be moved toward.

The prism moving mechanism 50 is a cube prism.
Swing arm 51 that supports 25 and this swing arm
And a frame 52 that pivotally supports 51. With this prism moving mechanism 50, the cube prism
The reference numeral 25 is movable between a predetermined position C where the observation optical path P ₃ and the laser optical path P ₄ intersect and a prism retracted position D which is out of the laser optical path P ₄ (see FIG. 2). The swing arm 51 is a substantially U-shaped member in a plan view, and sandwiches the cube prism 25 from both sides with both sides of the U-shape. The base of the swing arm 51 is fixed to a support shaft 53 rotatably attached to the frame 52. On both sides of the tip portion of the swing arm 51, projecting pieces 54 protruding outward,
55 is provided. Of these, the projecting piece 54 is an interlocking portion that engages with the arm 41 of the shutter moving mechanism 40 and interlocks the shutter 28 with the movement of the cube prism 25, and is an intermediate position between the prism retracted position D and the predetermined position C. Therefore, the engagement with the shutter moving mechanism 40 is started at the interlocking position E deviated from the laser optical path P ₄ (see FIG. 2). On the other hand, on the lower surface of the protrusion 55, a stopper 56 protruding downward is provided. As shown in FIG. 5, the stopper 56 has a cylindrical tubular portion 57 having an internal thread on its inner surface, and a worm screw 58 screwed to the tubular portion 57.
The potato screw 58 is for adjusting the position of the cube prism 25. Inside the potato screw 58, a plunger 59 having a tip projecting from the lower end surface of the potato screw 58 in the figure, and a coil spring 60 for urging the plunger 59 downward in the figure are provided.

2 to 4, the frame 52 has, in addition to the support shaft 53, an elongated plate-shaped base 61 fixed to the bottom surface 7C of the second housing 7B and both sides of the base 61. And side walls 62 and 63 which are provided upright. The side wall portions 62 and 63 are face materials in which the insertion holes 64 and 65 are provided in the portions facing each other. Of these, the diameter of the insertion hole 64 of the side wall portion 62 is larger than that of the insertion hole 65 of the side wall portion 63. On the other hand, a cylindrical fitting member 67 having a flange 66 is inserted into the insertion hole 65 of the side wall portion 63, and the flange 66 of the fitting member 67 is fixed to the side wall portion 63 with a bolt or the like. The support shaft 53 is a thick body portion 68 having a diameter on the upper side in FIG.
And the lower side has a neck portion 69 in which the diameter of the body portion 68 is reduced stepwise. A collar 70 is provided on an end edge of the support shaft 53 on the body portion 68 side, and a tip end 69A of the neck portion 69 is provided with a locking surface 71 which is a flat surface with a part of a cylindrical side surface cut away. . Body of support shaft 53
68 is inserted into the insertion hole 64 of the side wall portion 62. The neck portion 69 of the support shaft 53 has a coil spring 72 and a fitting member 67 for the side wall portion 63.
The distal end portion 69A projects outward from the fitting member 67. The tip 69A of the neck 69 is a grip that is a driven part to which a driving force for driving the prism moving mechanism 50 is applied.
73 Potato screws 73A etc. Where spindle 53
Is rotatably attached to the frame 52, and by pulling the handle 73, it can be moved by the dimension F in the axial direction (see FIG. 3). It is possible to return.

The handle 73 has a substantially semicircular collar portion 74 on the base end side. On the back surface 74A of the collar portion 74, the fitting member 67
Fitting protrusion that can fit with the two fitting holes 75 and 76 on the
77 are provided. When the handle 73 is rotated clockwise, an end surface 78 of the chord portion of the collar portion 74 formed in a semicircular shape has a stopper 79 provided upright on the fitting member 67.
It is designed to be locked in. Here, the fitting protrusion 77 and the fitting hole 75 are provided in the coil spring 72 when the cube prism 25 reaches the predetermined position C by the rotation operation of the handle 73.
While the fitting is automatically performed by the urging force of, the fitting is easily released by pulling the handle 73. Further, the fitting protrusion 77 and the fitting hole 76 are
When the cube prism 25 reaches the prism retracted position D, it is automatically fitted by the urging force of the coil spring 72, and like the case of the fitting projection 77 and the fitting hole 75, the grip 73 The fitting can be easily released by pulling.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, the inspection object is visually observed by the direct observation optical system. Before observing with the direct observation optical system, switch the optical system from the laser processing optical system to the direct observation optical system in advance,
The cube prism 25 is moved to a predetermined position C. This switching is performed as follows. First, the handle 73 is pulled against the urging force of the coil spring 72 to release the fitting between the fitting protrusion 77 and the fitting hole 76, and in this state, the handle 73 is rotated counterclockwise to move the cube prism. After moving 25 from the prism retreat position D to the predetermined position C, the pulling force of the grip 73 is released, and the fitting protrusion 77 and the fitting hole 75 are fitted together.
On the other hand, the shutter 28 automatically moves from the shutter retracted position B to the blocking position A in conjunction with the movement of the cube prism 25. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), the plunger 59 of the stopper 56 below the cube prism 25 is used.
Is in contact with the bottom surface 7C of the second housing 7B and is urged toward the bottom surface 7C by the coil spring 60. Therefore, the fitting protrusion 77 and the fitting hole 75 are loosely fitted to each other. However, the cube prism 25 is accurately arranged at the predetermined position C. As a result, the observation optical path P ₃ of the direct observation optical system is surely formed, and visual inspection of the inspection object becomes possible. Further, even if the laser light G is irradiated during the direct observation, the laser light G is completely blocked by the shutter 28, so that the eyes of the operator under observation are not damaged.

Next, the inspection object is processed by the laser processing optical system. In processing with the laser processing optical system, the optical system is switched from the direct observation optical system to the laser processing optical system in advance, and the cube prism 25 is moved to the prism retreat position C. This switching is performed as follows. First, the handle 73 is pulled against the urging force of the coil spring 72 to release the fitting between the fitting protrusion 77 and the fitting hole 75. In this state, the handle 73 is rotated clockwise to move the cube prism 25. After moving from the predetermined position C to the prism retreat position D, the pulling force of the grip 73 is released, and the fitting projection 77 and the fitting hole 76 are fitted together. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6B, the protrusion 54 of the prism moving mechanism 50 moves the arm 41 of the shutter moving mechanism 40 after the cube prism 25 moves to the interlocking position E which is out of the laser optical path P _4. Therefore, even if the laser beam G is irradiated during the movement of the cube prism 25, the laser beam G is completely blocked by the shutter 28, so that the cube prism 25 is not damaged. In addition, as shown in FIG.
28 moves from the blocking position A to the shutter retracted position B in conjunction with the movement of the cube prism 25. Thereby, the laser optical path P ₄ of the laser processing optical system is formed, and the laser processing of the inspection object becomes possible. At this time, since the cube prism 25 is located away from the laser optical path P ₄ , there is no risk of damage to the cube prism 25, and the laser light to be irradiated onto the inspection object is absorbed and dispersed by the cube prism 25. Nor.

According to this embodiment as described above, there are the following effects. That is, the prism moving mechanism 50 for moving the cube prism 25 is provided, and the shutter 28
A shutter moving mechanism 40 for moving the laser beam is provided so that the cube prism 25 and the shutter 28 are moved to a position deviated from the laser optical path P ₄ when processing is performed by the laser processing optical system. The desired laser light is not absorbed or dispersed by the cube prism 25, the efficiency of using the energy of the laser light can be improved, and the cube prism 25 can be prevented from being damaged. Moreover, since the cube prism 25 is located outside the observation optical path P ₃ , even if the shutter 28 is removed from the laser optical path P ₄ ,
The laser light reflected from the inspection object does not directly reach the eyepiece lens 21 of the observation optical system, and there is no risk of damaging the retina of the operator's eye.

Further, the cube prism 25 and the shutter 28 are moved separately, and the cube prism 25
Is moved from the laser optical path P ₄ to the interlocking position E, and then the protrusion 54 of the prism moving mechanism 50 and the shutter moving mechanism 40 are moved.
Since the engagement with the arm 41 is started, even if the laser light is irradiated during the movement of the cube prism 25, the laser light is shuttered while the cube prism 25 is inside the laser optical path P _4. Since it is blocked by 28, damage to the cube prism 25 can be prevented even when switching.

Further, a fitting protrusion 77 is provided on the back surface 74A of the collar portion 74 of the handle 73, and when the cube prism 25 is at the predetermined position C and the prism retreat position D, the fitting protrusion 77 is a fitting member for the frame 52. Since it fits into either the fitting hole 75 or 76 provided in 67, the direct observation optical system and the laser processing optical system can be switched to each other only by operating the handle 73. Can be simple.

Below the cube prism 25, a second
Since a stopper 56 that abuts on the bottom surface 7C of the housing 7B and restricts the swing of the swing arm 51 is projected, and the plunger 59 built in the plunger 59 is biased toward the bottom surface 7C by the coil spring 60, Even if the fitting protrusion 77 and the fitting hole 75 are loosely fitted to each other, the cube prism 25 can be accurately arranged at the predetermined position C, and when the observation optical system is directly switched to, the observation optical path P ₃
Can be reliably formed.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various improvements and design changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is possible. For example, the moving mechanism for moving the prism or shutter is not limited to the swing type prism moving mechanism 50 or the shutter moving mechanism 40 that swingably supports a member having the prism or shutter fixed, but the prism or shutter is fixed. A slide type that slidably supports the member may be used, and in short, any type that can move the prism or the shutter to the outside of the laser optical path may be used.

Further, the stopper for restricting the swing of the swing arm is not limited to the stopper 56 attached to the swing arm 51 side, but may be the one attached to the bottom surface 7C side of the second housing 7B. For example, the stopper 56 of the above embodiment
Can be attached to the bottom surface 7C by turning it upside down.

Further, in the above embodiment, the fitting projection 77 is provided on the handle 73 side and the fitting holes 75 and 76 are provided on the frame 52 side. Conversely, the fitting hole is provided on the handle 73 side. A fitting protrusion may be provided on the 52 side.

Further, the prism moving mechanism and the shutter moving mechanism are not limited to the manual type, but may be an electric type. If an electric type is adopted, the operation of the shutter moving mechanism can be electrically interlocked with the operation of the prism moving mechanism by sequence control etc., and there is no mechanical interlocking part when electrically interlocking. Good.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the prism from being damaged without impairing the safety, and to improve the utilization efficiency of the energy of laser light.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing an embodiment of an optical microscope of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of a main part of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the main part.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the stopper according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Optical microscope 25 Cube prism which is a prism arranged at a predetermined position 28 Shutter 40 Shutter movement mechanism 50 Prism movement mechanism 51 Swing arm 52 Frame 53 Spindle 54 Projection piece as interlocking part 56 Stopper 58 Potato screw as screw 59 Plunger 73 Handle as driven part 75, 76 Fitting hole 77 Fitting protrusion A Blocking position B Shutter retracting position C Predetermined position D Prism retracting position P ₃ Observation optical path P ₄ Laser optical path

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A direct observation optical system capable of irradiating an inspection object with light and observing reflected light or transmitted light thereof through an eyepiece, and a laser processing optical system capable of irradiating the inspection object with laser light. In the optical microscope, a prism disposed at a predetermined position where the observation optical path of the direct observation optical system and the laser optical path of the laser processing optical system intersect, and a laser optical path so that the laser light does not hit the prism. A shutter for blocking, a prism moving mechanism for movably supporting the prism between a prism retracted position deviated from the laser optical path and the predetermined position, and a blocking position for blocking the shutter from the laser optical path and the laser optical path. An optical microscope, comprising: a shutter moving mechanism that movably supports the shutter retracted position. 2. The optical microscope according to claim 1, wherein
The prism moving mechanism is provided with a driven portion to which a driving force for driving the prism moving mechanism is applied, and the shutter at an interlocking position which is an intermediate position between the prism retracted position and the predetermined position and which is out of the laser optical path. An optical microscope, comprising: an interlocking portion that engages with a moving mechanism to interlock the shutter with the movement of the prism. 3. The optical microscope according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the prism moving mechanism has a swing arm to which the prism is fixed, and a frame which swingably supports the swing arm. A supporting shaft of the frame supporting the swing arm is movable in the axial direction with respect to the frame, and a handle which is the driven portion is fixed to one end of the frame, and the supporting shaft is attached to the handle. One of a fitting protrusion and a fitting hole that can be fitted by moving along the direction is provided, and the frame has a fitting protrusion and a fitting hole at each of the predetermined position and the prism retracted position. An optical microscope, wherein the fitting protrusion and the other of the fitting holes that fit with one of the fitting holes are provided. 4. The optical microscope according to claim 3,
Below the cube prism, a stopper that restricts the swing of the swing arm is provided in a protruding manner, and this stopper is a tubular member having a screw screwed therein.
An optical microscope, characterized in that a tip is projected from an end face of the screw and a plunger biased toward the end face is incorporated therein.