JPH1184250A - Optical scanning confocal microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a color image and a phosphor image by focusing light beams different in wavelength at the same position with an easy constitution. SOLUTION: Laser beam returning from an object is guided from the end part 11c of a four-terminal coupler to the mirror unit 22 of a top end constituting part 4, then, the light is reflected by a mirror 49, next, reflected by a mirror 47, and then, reflected by a concave mirror 50. Besides, the return light is reflected by a scanning mirror 48, then, the focus 51 is formed by the light condensing work of the concave mirror 50. In the case the subject lies at the focal position and the laser beam is reflected by the subject, the reflected light passes through the same optical path as that of the incident light, then, the reflected light is made incident on the end part 11c of the four-terminal coupler 10 again. Light reflected by some position other than the focal position 51 does not pass through the same optical path as that of the incident light, so that the light is not made incident on the end part 11c of a single mode fiber 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical scanning confocal microscope, and more particularly, to an optical scanning confocal microscope characterized in that a portion to be irradiated with light from a light source is focused.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an optical scanning type confocal microscope has been known as a means for observing a living tissue or a cell with high resolution in an optical axis direction. However, in this case, an ordinary confocal microscope is large in size, and a sample is cut out small and mounted on a microscope for observation.

[0003] Further, a technique of reducing the size of the confocal microscope and inducing the confocal microscope into the digestive tract of an organism for observation is described in, for example, the document "Micromashined scanning confocal optical microsco."
pe ”OPTICS LETTERS Vol.21.No10.May, 1996
The principle of a microscopic confocal microscope is described.

[0004] This minute confocal microscope 150 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), it is composed of a light source unit 151, a light transmission unit 152, a tip 153, and a light detection unit 154.

The light source unit 151 includes a helium-neon laser light source 155 that generates a laser beam having a wavelength of 635 nm, and the light transmission unit 152 includes the laser light source 1.
A four-terminal coupler 157 made up of a single mode fiber 156 into which 55 laser beams are incident and bidirectionally splits the laser beams. One of the other ends of the four-terminal coupler 157 is connected to the tip 153, and the other end is closed. Also, the light detection unit 154
It comprises a photodetector 158 as a photodetector provided in the terminal coupler 157 and an image processing unit 159 connected to the photodetector 158.

As shown in FIG. 15, the tip 153 comprises a substrate 161, a spacer 162, and an upper plate 163. The substrate 161 has a variable direction in order to scan the focal point of the laser beam with respect to the object. Variable mirrors 164a, 164b
Having. The two variable mirrors 164a and 164b are supported by two hinge portions 165a and 165b,
The hinges 165a and 165b are configured to be rotatable by electrostatic force with the hinges 165a and 165b as rotation axes. Here, this 2
The rotating axes of the movable mirrors 164a and 164b are configured to be parallel to the orthogonal X-axis and Y-axis in the drawing, respectively.

[0007] As shown in FIG.
2 has a mirror 166, and the upper plate 163 has a mirror 16.
7 and a diffraction grating lens 169 for focusing the laser beam on the focal point 168.

With these configurations, the confocal microscope 150
Then, the laser light from the laser light source 155 is split into two directions by a four-terminal coupler 157, and one of the two is incident on the tip 153.

The laser light is reflected in the order of a mirror 166, a variable mirror 164a, a mirror 167, and a variable mirror 164b, guided to a focal point 168 by a diffraction grating lens 169, and further changed in direction by electrostatic force. The focal point 168 is scanned on the substantially flat surface 170 by the variable mirrors 164a and 164b.

When there is a substance at the focal point 168, the reflected light passes through exactly the same optical path as the irradiated laser light, focuses on the end face 171 of the single-mode fiber 156 of the four-terminal coupler 157, and returns to the single-mode fiber 156. It enters again. And a single mode fiber 156
This light that has entered again is split by the four-terminal coupler 157 and detected by the photodetector 158.

When there is no object at the focal point 168,
There is no reflected light and no light is incident on the single mode fiber 156, and therefore there is no output from the photodetector 158. In addition, the reflected light of the laser light from the object at a position shifted from the focal point 168 has a different optical path from that of the incident light, and is not focused on the end face 171 of the single mode fiber 156. Is not incident, and is hardly output by the photodetector 158.

In this way, the laser beam is transmitted to the mirror 164.
a, 164b, by scanning in the X and Y directions, two-dimensionally detecting changes in the intensity of reflection and scattering of the substantially flat surface 170 scanned by the focal point 168 of the laser beam. This can be imaged using the signal Furthermore, these tip portions 1
By changing the distance between the tip 153 and the object by a bimorph type piezoelectric element (not shown) provided at 53, the scanning surface is moved in the normal direction 172 in FIG.
The object can be detected three-dimensionally and imaged.

[0013]

However, in the conventional confocal microscope 150 having the above configuration, a diffraction grating lens 169 for focusing a laser beam is used. Because of the use of the diffraction phenomenon described above, there is chromatic aberration in which the focus position differs depending on the wavelength of light. Therefore, even if it is attempted to take a color image by irradiating light containing a plurality of wavelengths and detecting each reflected light, each light of each wavelength has a different focal position. However, there is a problem that a color image cannot be taken.

When observing a portion to be examined, such as a living tissue or a mucous membrane, it is necessary to irradiate the portion to be inspected with light of a certain wavelength and observe fluorescence having a longer wavelength than irradiation light coming out of the sample. Is commonly done. It is also common to inject a fluorescent substance in advance into the subject and observe the fluorescent substance. However, in the conventional confocal microscope 150 having the above-described configuration, the fluorescent light having a different wavelength from the irradiation light has a different optical path from the irradiation light when passing through the diffraction grating lens 169, and the fluorescent light forms an image on the end face of the single mode fiber 156. No, single mode fiber 15
6 can hardly be incident, and therefore there is a problem that this fluorescence cannot be detected.

In order to solve these problems, it is possible to remove chromatic aberration by using a plurality of lenses like a conventional microscope lens. However, such an optical system requires the use of a plurality of lenses, and inevitably requires the use of a plurality of lenses. It is difficult to make it big and small.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is an optical scanning confocal system capable of focusing light having different wavelengths at the same position with an easy configuration to obtain a color image or a fluorescent image. It is intended to provide a microscope.

[0017]

According to the present invention, there is provided an optical scanning confocal microscope according to the present invention, comprising: a light source for irradiating a test portion with light; a light scanning portion for scanning light from the light source on a sample; A light detection unit that detects return light from the test section of light scanned by the optical scanning section, wherein the light scanning section transmits light from the light source to the test section. It comprises at least one concave mirror for illuminating and focusing.

In the optical scanning confocal microscope according to the present invention, the concave mirror irradiates light from the light source onto the test portion so as to be focused, thereby allowing light having different wavelengths to be located at the same position with an easy configuration. To focus, and to obtain a color image or a fluorescent image.

[0019]

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

First Embodiment FIGS. 1 to 8 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an optical scanning confocal microscope, and FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the mirror unit shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a first explanatory diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a scan mirror of the mirror unit shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. Figure 3
2 is a second explanatory view for explaining a method of manufacturing a scan mirror of the mirror unit of FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a structural view showing a configuration of a photodetector of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a structural view showing a configuration of a control unit of FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining focal scanning by the mirror unit of FIG.

(Configuration) As shown in FIG. 1, an optical scanning confocal microscope 1 according to the present embodiment includes a light source unit 2, a light transmitting unit 3,
It is configured by a tip configuration unit 4 as a light scanning unit, a light detection unit 5, and a control unit 6.

The light source unit 2 comprises a white laser light source 7 having a plurality of oscillation lines ranging from 400 nm to 750 nm, and this laser light source 7 is connected to a control unit 6 via an electric cable 8.

The light transmitting section 3 is composed of a single mode fiber 9 and is a four-terminal coupler 1 for splitting light bidirectionally.
0, and the laser light from the laser light source 7 is applied to one end 1 of the four ends of the four-terminal coupler 10.
1a. The other end 11c of the four-terminal coupler 10 is connected to the distal end component 4, and is configured to transmit the laser light to the inside of the distal end component 4. Further, among the ends of the other four-terminal coupler 10, another end 11
d is connected to an isolator 12 and further another end 11
b is connected to the light detection unit 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the distal end component 4 comprises a main body 21, a mirror unit 22, and a Z-axis actuator 23 movable in the Z-axis direction in the figure, and the main body 21 has a transparent window 24. ing. The Z-axis actuator 23 is constituted by a bimorph type piezoelectric actuator, and applies a voltage to move the mirror unit 22 in the direction 25.
Actuate to One end of the Z-axis actuator 23 is adhered to the main body 21 and the Z-axis actuator 2
The wiring from 3 is connected to the control unit 6 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mirror unit 22
Are a silicon substrate 43 in contact with the end of the Z-axis actuator 23, a plate 44 adhered to the silicon substrate 43, and a spacer 45 adhered to the plate 44.
And an upper plate 46 adhered to the spacer 45. The end 11c of the single mode fiber 9 is fixed to the plate 44. Silicon substrate 43
The plate 47 constitutes a mirror 47 and a scan mirror 48, and the scan mirror 48 is a so-called gimbal mirror. Further, the spacer 45 has a mirror portion 49, and the upper plate 46 has a concave mirror 50.

Here, the light emitted from the single mode fiber 9 is first reflected by the mirror 49 of the spacer 45, then reflected by the mirror 47, and subsequently reflected by the concave mirror 50 provided on the upper plate 46. And finally scan mirror 4
After being reflected by 8, they are transmitted through the upper plate 46 and the window 24 of the main body 21, and are configured to be guided so as to form the focal point 51.

The silicon substrate 43 has a low resistance value (about 10Ωc).
m or less), a mask is formed on the surface other than the portion where the recess 52 is to be formed with a resist or the like, and the recess 52 is formed by an anisotropic wet etching method such as KOH or TMAH or a dry etching method. The depth of the depression 52 is set so as to cover the movable range of the scan mirror 48.

The plate 44 is made of silicon,
The plate 44 is provided on the silicon substrate 43 and the silicon substrate 4
3 are bonded so as to interpose an oxide material (not shown) on the substrate such as SiO ₂ formed on the surface of No. 3. Here, the plate 44 and the silicon substrate 43 are electrically insulated by an insulating film layer (not shown).

The plate 44 is provided on the silicon substrate 43
Then, the scan mirror 48 and the like are formed by processing.
That is, first, a nitride film is formed on the surface of the plate 44 by CVD.
(Chemical Vapor Deposition) method and the like, and in order to form the scan mirror 48, the nitride film is processed by photolithography / etching.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the scan mirror 48 at this time as viewed from above. 4 are portions where the nitride film serving as a mask is not provided when the plate 44 is processed by the etching method, that is, portions where the nitride film is removed, and white portions are covered with the nitride film. Have been done.

The plate 4 corresponding to the black coloring portion 53a
Before processing 4, a metal thin film such as aluminum is deposited and patterned by photolithography to selectively form a conductive film layer. As the conductive film layer, as shown in FIG.
8 electrodes 54a, 54b, 54c, 54d, mirror 4
7, wirings 55a, 55b, 55c, 55d and the like. Here, the electrodes 54a, 54b, 54c, 54d
Also serves as a mirror.

After forming and processing the conductive layer, the plate 44 is etched using the silicon nitride film as a mask to form the scan mirror 48 and the like. When the etching liquid or the etching gas affects the electrode 54a or the like,
These conductive patterns may be protected by using a resist or the like.

By this etching process, the portion of the plate 44 corresponding to the black coloring portion 53a not covered with the nitride film shown in FIG. 4 is removed, and the scan mirror 48 having a gimbal structure is formed. The hinge portions 56 and 57 of the scan mirror 48 are formed so that only the nitride film portion remains by underetching from both sides.
The center 58 of the scan mirror 48 can be rotated two-dimensionally in the X and Y directions around the axes 6 and 57.

The electrodes 54a, 54b, 54c, 54
d is connected to the electric cable 8 via wirings 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d, respectively.
Is electrically connected to the control unit 6 via the

Returning to FIG. 3, the spacer 45 is made of silicon. The opening is formed by etching silicon by photolithography and etching, and at the same time, a portion for guiding and fixing the single mode fiber 9 is also formed. After the processing, a mirror 49 is formed on the inner surface of the opening side portion by a sputtering method, an evaporation method, or the like. The mirror 49
When is made of aluminum, its thickness is 150-20
0 nm is optimal.

On the other hand, the upper plate 46 is formed by injection molding using a mold manufactured by fine electric discharge machining.
The shape of the concave mirror 50 provided on the upper plate 46 may be spherical, but astigmatism and coma occur. Therefore, it is better to set the concave mirror 50 to an anamorphic surface in order to reduce astigmatism, and the shape of the anamorphic surface is represented by the following equation.

[0037]

(Equation 1) S ² = X ² + Y ² CUX = curvature in X direction CUY = curvature in Y direction K = plane mirror coefficient AR2 to AR10 = rotationally symmetric aspherical shape coefficient AP2 to AP10 = non-rotationally symmetrical aspherical coefficient Further generation of coma aberration In order to suppress this, the shape of the concave mirror 50 may be set so as to reduce the asymmetry of the light ray with respect to the principal ray direction.

Then, based on the concave mirror shape data, a mold is manufactured by fine electric discharge machining, and polycarbonate is injection-molded using the mold. Further, an aluminum film is vapor-deposited only on the concave portion, and a concave mirror 50 is formed to manufacture the upper plate 46.

As shown in FIG. 6, the light detecting section 5 includes a collimating lens 60, dichroic mirrors 61a, 61b, and 61c extending in the direction of the extension of the end 11b of the four-terminal coupler 10.
Is provided.

Here, the dichroic mirror 61a has a property of reflecting light having a wavelength of 500 nm or less and transmitting light having a wavelength of 500 nm or less. The dichroic mirror 61b reflects light having a wavelength of 600 nm or less.
The dichroic mirror 61c has a property of transmitting light having a wavelength of 700 nm or more, and has a property of transmitting light having a wavelength of 700 nm or more.

The detecting section 5 is provided with condenser lenses 62a, 62b, 62c so that the light reflected by the dichroic mirrors 61a, 61b, 61c is collected. Further, the photodetectors 63a, 63b are so set that the light condensed by the condenser lenses 62a, 62b, 62c is incident.
b, 63c are provided. The outputs of the photodetectors 63a, 63b, 63c are connected to the control unit 6 via the electric cable 8.

As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 6 includes a laser driving circuit 64 for controlling the driving of the laser light source 7 and an electrode 5.
An XY drive circuit 65 connected to 3a, 53b, 53c and 53d for driving the scan mirror 48 to perform XY scanning;
A Z drive circuit 66 that drives the axis actuator 23 to perform Z scanning, an amplification circuit 67 that amplifies detection signals from the photodetectors 63a, 63b, 63c, and an XY drive circuit 65
And a drive signal from the Z drive circuit 66 and an amplifying circuit 67
An image processing circuit 68 that generates a scanned image based on the amplified detection signal, a monitor 69 that displays the scanned image generated by the image processing circuit 68, and a recording device 70 that records the scanned image generated by the image processing circuit 68 It is configured.

(Operation) The white laser light source 7 driven by the laser drive circuit 64 irradiates laser light having a plurality of wavelengths, and this light is irradiated by a condenser lens (not shown).
The light is focused on one end 11a of the terminal coupler 10. The laser light is split into two by the four-terminal coupler 10, one of which is guided to the isolator 12 from the end 11 d of the four-terminal coupler 10. The light returning from the end 11d to the four-terminal coupler 10 by the isolator 12 is almost eliminated.

The other laser beam is supplied to the four-terminal coupler 10.
Is led to the mirror unit 22 of the distal end component 4 from the end 11c. This laser light is applied to a mirror 49 as shown in FIG.
Then, the light is reflected by the mirror 47, and then reflected by the concave mirror 50. Further, this laser light is reflected by the scan mirror 48, and the light is condensed by the concave mirror 50,
Focus 51 is formed. When an object is located at this focal point and light is reflected, the reflected light passes through the same optical path as the incident light, and
The light enters the end 11 c of the terminal coupler 10.

The reflected light from other than the focal point 51 is
It cannot pass through the same optical path as the incident light and cannot enter the end 11c of the single mode fiber 9. That is, the end 11c of the single mode fiber 9 acts as a small pinhole, and has the same resolution as that of a confocal microscope.

In this state, the electrodes 54a, 54b of the scan mirror 48 are operated by the XY drive circuit 65 of the control unit 6.
Are alternately positively charged, and when the silicon substrate 43 is connected to the ground, the electrodes 54a and 54b of the scan mirror 48 are
When each is positively charged, it is attracted to the substrate by electrostatic force, and the center portion 58 of the scan mirror 48 vibrates around the hinge 57 as a rotation axis. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the position of the focal point 51 of the laser beam is scanned in the X direction on the scanning surface (the direction perpendicular to the paper). Also, the electrode 54c,
54d, by alternately charging positive charges,
The center portion 58 of the scan mirror 48 vibrates around the hinge 56 as a rotation axis. Accordingly, the focal point 51 of the laser beam
Is scanned in the Y direction (perpendicular to the X direction) on the scanning surface.

Here, by controlling the frequency of the vibration in the Y direction sufficiently lower than the frequency of the scanning in the X direction and controlling it at an appropriate timing, the focal point 51 sequentially scans the object surface as shown in FIG. . Accordingly, the reflected light at each point on the object surface is transmitted by the end 11c of the four-terminal coupler 10.

The light incident on the single mode fiber 9 from the end 11c is split into two parts by the four-terminal coupler 10 and emitted from the end 11b different from the laser light source 7.

This light is converted into parallel light by the collimator lens 60, and is incident on the dichroic mirror 61a. Here, blue light having a wavelength of 500 nm or less is reflected by the dichroic mirror 61a, and light having a wavelength of 500 nm or more is transmitted. Similarly, the wavelength is 50 in the dichroic mirror 61b.
Green light having a wavelength of 0 nm or more and 600 nm or less is reflected, and light having a wavelength of 600 nm or more is transmitted. Further, the dichroic mirror 61c reflects red light having a wavelength of 600 nm or more and 750 nm or less.

Further, these dichroic mirrors 61
Light reflected by a, 61b, and 61c is condensed by condenser lenses 62a, 62b, and 62c, respectively, and is incident on photodetectors 63a, 63b, and 63c, respectively. Here, the photodetectors 63a, 63b, 63c output electric signals corresponding to the intensity of the incident light, and these electric signals are amplified by the amplifier circuit 67 of the control unit 6. The signal amplified here is sent to the image processing circuit 68. The image processing circuit 68 refers to the drive waveform of the XY drive circuit 65 to calculate from which focus position the signal is output, and further calculates the intensity and hue of the reflected light at this point and displays it on the monitor 69. Let it. By repeating these operations, the reflected light on the scanning surface is imaged on the monitor 69. Further, the image data is recorded in the recording device 70 as needed.

By driving the Z-axis actuator 23 with the Z drive circuit 66, the focal position can be moved in the Z direction. By taking an image in this state as described above, another cross section of the sample moved in the Z direction can be observed. Further, the image processing circuit 68 appropriately records the data of a plurality of scanned images having different positions in the Z direction and the output of the Z-axis drive circuit 66 for each image in the recording device 70, and refers to these to obtain a 3D image.
A dimensional image can also be constructed and displayed on a monitor.

The concave mirror may be provided on the mirror 49 or the mirror 47 instead of the concave mirror 50.

(Effect) As described above, in this embodiment, by using the small scan mirror 48 and the single mode fiber 9, a very small optical scanning confocal microscope 1 can be formed, and light transmission can be achieved. Since the single mode fiber 9 is used, light can be guided flexibly with a thin configuration.

Since the concave mirror 50 is used to focus light, light having a plurality of wavelength components can be focused at the same position with a compact structure. Since a dichroic mirror is used for the detection unit 5, detection light having a plurality of wavelength components can be easily separated, and an image can be colored.

Second Embodiment FIGS. 9 to 11 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an optical scanning confocal microscope, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the mirror unit of the distal end component, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a light detection unit.

Since the second embodiment is almost the same as the first embodiment, only different points will be described, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

(Configuration) In the present embodiment, the configuration of the light source section 90, the mirror unit of the distal end configuration section 91, and the light detection section 92 in FIG. 9 are different from those of the first embodiment.

That is, in the present embodiment, the light source 90
Is constituted by a diode laser 93 having a wavelength of 780 nm, and is connected so that the laser light can be incident on the single mode fiber 9 of the four-terminal coupler 10.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the distal end portion 91 differs from the first embodiment in the configuration of the mirror unit 94. The mirror unit 94 comprises a silicon substrate 43 and a plate adhered to the silicon substrate 43. The silicon substrate 43 and the plate 44 are provided with a scan mirror 48 having a gimbal structure similar to that of the first embodiment.

In the spacer 95, a hollow portion 96 having an opening on the plate 44 side manufactured by the same manufacturing method of the upper plate 46 of the first embodiment is formed.
6, a concave mirror 50 is provided on the inner surface of the side.

As shown in FIG. 11, the light detecting section 92 transmits the collimating lens 60 to the end 11b of the four-terminal coupler 10 in the emission direction, and transmits the light of 800 nm or more and the light of the wavelength less than 800 nm. Filter 97 for blocking and filter 9
It comprises a condenser lens 98 for condensing the light passing through 7 and a detector 99 for detecting the light condensed by the condenser lens 98.

The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

(Operation) Mirror unit 9 of the present embodiment
In 4, the light emitted from the end 11 c of the single mode fiber 9 is reflected by the concave mirror 50 and the scan mirror 48, and is focused on the sample by the action of the concave mirror 50.
Tie. If the sample emits fluorescent light having a longer wavelength than the reflected light in addition to the reflected light, the reflected light and the fluorescent light pass through the same optical path as the incident light, and the end 11 c of the four-terminal coupler 10.
Is incident on. Note that a fluorescent substance may be injected into the sample in advance.

These lights are applied to the end 1 of the four-terminal coupler 10.
Although emitted from 1b, the reflected light cannot pass through the filter 97, and only the fluorescence passes through the filter 97, is collected by the condenser lens 98, and is detected by the detector 99.

The signal detected by the detector 99 is the first signal.
The fluorescence image of the sample is imaged in the same manner as in the embodiment.

The other operations are the same as in the first embodiment.

(Effects) As described above, in the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the fluorescence from the sample can be easily imaged.

Further, in the mirror unit 94, since the upper plate is formed integrally with the spacer 95, the number of parts is reduced, and the assembly becomes easier. Further, since the light is reflected only by the scan mirror 48 and the concave mirror 50 so that the focal point 51 is focused, the number of times of light reflection can be reduced, and the configuration can be made smaller.

Third Embodiment FIGS. 12 and 13 relate to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a mirror unit of a distal end component, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a spacer.

Since the third embodiment is almost the same as the first embodiment, only different points will be described, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

(Configuration) In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the configuration of the mirror unit 101 is different from that of the first embodiment.
3 and a plate 44 adhered to the silicon substrate 43
And a spacer 95 bonded to the plate 44. The silicon substrate 43 and the plate 44
Two movable mirrors 102 and 103 constituting a scan mirror 48 having a gimbal structure similar to that of the first embodiment are formed, and the rotation axes of the movable mirrors 102 and 103 are configured to be orthogonal to each other. In the X direction at 102,
The movable mirror 103 is configured to scan light in the Y direction.

The spacer 95 is formed with a hollow portion 96 having an opening on the side of the plate 44 manufactured by the same manufacturing method of the upper plate 46 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. Cylindrical mirror 10 on the bottom inner surface
4 is provided with a cylindrical mirror 105 on the inner surface of the side. The shape of the cylindrical concave mirrors 104 and 105 is such that the anamorphic surface of the first embodiment is in the X direction,
It has a shape developed so as to converge light only in the Y direction, and is configured to focus at the same position.

The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

(Operation) In this embodiment, light is condensed in the X direction by the cylindrical mirror 104, and the cylindrical mirror 1
The light is condensed in the Y direction by 05 and the focus 106 is formed.

Further, the focal point 10 is
6 is scanned in the X direction, and the focus 106 is scanned in the Y direction by the movable mirror 103.

The other operations are the same as in the first embodiment.

(Effect) As described above, in this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, light is condensed in each direction by using two cylindrical mirrors 104 and 105 having a simple shape. Therefore, production can be performed easily.

Further, in the mirror unit 94, since the upper plate is formed integrally with the spacer 95, the number of parts is reduced, and the assembly becomes easier.

The anamorphic surface may be formed on the scan mirror. In this case, the mirror having the anamorphic surface may be manufactured in advance by injection molding using a mold in the same manner as the method described above, and the mirror may be bonded to the movable mirror.

[Appendix] (Appendix 1) A light source for irradiating the test portion with light, a light scanning section for scanning light from the light source on the sample, and a light scanning section for scanning the light with the light scanning section. In a light scanning microscope having a light detection unit that detects return light from the test section, the light scanning section is for irradiating the test section with light from the light source to focus the test section. An optical scanning confocal microscope comprising at least one concave mirror.

(Additional Item 2) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 1, wherein the light scanning section has at least one scan mirror capable of two-dimensionally scanning the light from the light source.

(Supplementary note 3) The optical scanning unit according to supplementary note 2, wherein the light scanning unit includes a vertical scanning unit that scans light from the light source in a direction perpendicular to a two-dimensional scanning surface of the scan mirror. Optical scanning confocal microscope.

(Additional Item 4) The additional item 2 or 3, wherein the scan mirror is driven by electrostatic force.
2. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to item 1.

(Additional Item 5) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional items 2 or 3, wherein the scan mirror has a gimbal structure.

(Additional Item 6) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional items 2 or 3, wherein the scan mirror is driven by a magnetic force.

(Additional Item 7) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 2, wherein the concave mirror and the scan mirror are integrated.

(Additional Item 8) The additional item 1 wherein the concave mirror is constituted by an anamorphic surface.
2. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to item 1.

(Supplementary Note 9) The concave mirror is constituted by two concave mirrors, and the light from the light source is condensed by the respective concave mirrors in directions orthogonal to each other. 2. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 1.

(Additional Item 10) The light source and the optical scanning unit
2. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to claim 1, wherein the optical scanning type confocal microscope is optically coupled with an optical fiber.

(Additional Item 11) The optical fiber is a single-mode fiber.
2. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to item 1.

(Supplementary Note 12) Between the light source and the optical scanning unit, there is provided a branching unit that divides an optical path into at least two, and the branching unit is configured to separate the return light from the test section by at least two. 3. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to claim 1, wherein the microscope is divided into directions.

(Additional Item 13)
13. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to claim 12, wherein one of the optical paths divided in the direction is connected to the light detection unit.

(Additional Item 14) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 12, wherein the branching means comprises a four-terminal coupler.

(Additional Item 15) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 1, wherein the light detection unit has a spectral unit that splits light according to wavelength.

(Supplementary Item 16) A light source for irradiating the sample with light, an optical scanning unit for scanning light from the light source,
In a light scanning microscope comprising a light detection unit that detects return light from the sample scanned by the scanning unit, the light detection unit has spectral means for splitting the return light by wavelength. Scanning confocal microscope.

(Additional Item 17) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 16, wherein the light scanning section has at least one scan mirror capable of two-dimensionally scanning the light from the light source.

(Supplementary note 18) The light scanning unit according to Supplementary note 17, wherein the light scanning unit includes a vertical scanning unit that scans light from the light source in a direction perpendicular to a two-dimensional scanning surface of the scan mirror. Optical scanning confocal microscope.

(Additional Item 19) The scan mirror includes:
18. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 16 or 17, wherein the optical scanning type confocal microscope is driven by electrostatic force.

(Additional Item 20) The scan mirror is
18. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 16 or 17, wherein the optical scanning confocal microscope has a gimbal structure.

(Additional Item 21) The scan mirror is
Item 18. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to item 16 or 17, wherein the optical scanning type confocal microscope is driven by a magnetic force.

(Supplementary Item 22) The light source and the optical scanning unit
17. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to claim 16, wherein the optical scanning type confocal microscope is optically coupled with an optical fiber.

(Additional Item 23) The optical fiber is a single mode fiber, wherein the optical fiber is a single mode fiber.
2. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to item 1.

(Supplementary Note 24) Between the light source and the light scanning unit, there is provided a branching unit that divides an optical path into at least two, and the branching unit is configured to split the return light from the test section into at least two light beams. Item 17. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to Item 16, wherein the light is divided into directions.

(Additional Item 25)
25. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to claim 24, wherein one of the optical paths divided in the direction is connected to the light detection unit.

(Additional Item 26) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 24, wherein the branching means comprises a four-terminal coupler.

(Additional Item 27) The additional dispersing means has one or more dichroic mirrors that perform reflection and transmission depending on the wavelength of the return light.
2. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to item 1.

(Supplementary Note 28) The dichroic mirror separates the return light into red, blue, and green light, and the light detection unit detects each of the return light split by the dichroic mirror. 28. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to claim 27, comprising:

(Additional Item 29) The optical scanning type according to additional item 16, wherein the spectroscopic means has at least one filter that transmits only a specific wavelength and does not transmit light of the wavelength of the light source. Confocal microscope.

(Additional Item 30) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 16, wherein the light source generates light of a plurality of wavelength components.

(Additional Item 31) The light scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 16, wherein the light from the light source is white light.

(Additional Item 32) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 16, wherein the light source generates a laser beam.

(Additional Item 33) The light source has a wavelength of 78.
Additional item 32, comprising a semiconductor laser that generates a laser beam having a wavelength of about 0 nm, and the dispersing unit includes a filter that transmits only light having a wavelength of 800 nm or more.
2. The optical scanning confocal microscope according to item 1.

(Additional Item 34) The optical scanning confocal microscope according to additional item 16, wherein the light source generates light having different wavelengths in a time-division manner.

[0114]

As described above, according to the optical scanning confocal microscope of the present invention, the concave mirror irradiates the light from the light source to the portion to be inspected to form a focal point. There is an effect that different light beams can be focused at the same position to obtain a color image or a fluorescent image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a tip configuration unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a mirror unit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a first explanatory view illustrating a method for manufacturing a scan mirror of the mirror unit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a second explanatory view illustrating a method for manufacturing a scan mirror of the mirror unit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a light detection unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a control unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating focus scanning by the mirror unit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an optical scanning confocal microscope according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a mirror unit of a distal end configuration portion in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a light detection unit in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a mirror unit of a distal end configuration portion according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the spacer of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a conventional optical scanning confocal microscope.

FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a distal end portion in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section of the distal end portion in FIG. 14;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical scanning confocal microscope 2 ... Light source part 3 ... Light transmission part 4 ... Tip construction part 5 ... Light detection part 6 ... Control part 7 ... Laser light source 8 ... Electric cable 9 ... Single mode fiber 10 ... Four terminal coupler 11a , 11b, 11c, 11d ... end 12 ... isolator 21 ... body 22 ... mirror unit 23 ... Z-axis actuator 24 ... window 43 ... silicon substrate 44 ... plate 45 ... spacer 46 ... top plate 47 ... mirror 48 ... scan mirror 49 … Mirror part 50… Concave mirror 54a, 54b, 54c, 54d… Electrode 55a, 55b, 55c, 55d… Wiring 56, 57… Hinge part 60… Collimate lens 61a, 61b, 61c… Diclock mirror 62a, 62b, 62c… Condensing lenses 63a, 63b, 63c ... photodetector 64 ... Laser drive circuit 6 ... XY driving circuit 66 ... Z drive circuit 67 ... amplifier circuits 68 ... image processing circuit 69 ... monitor 70 ... recording device

Claims (1)

[Claims] A light source configured to irradiate light to the test portion; a light scanning portion configured to scan light from the light source on a sample; and a light beam scanned by the light scanning portion from the test portion. In a light scanning microscope comprising a light detection unit that detects return light, the light scanning unit includes at least one concave mirror for irradiating light from the light source to the test target and focusing the test target. An optical scanning confocal microscope, comprising: