JPS619614A - Microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a microscopically inspecting position over a wide range of a sample in the stage of inspecting microscopically said sample by fixing the eyepiece system of an observation optical system and making an objective optical system movable in parallel with a field plane so that part of the optical path length of the observation optical system can be freely extended or contracted. CONSTITUTION:The light from an illuminating light source 7 transmits through a half-mirror 4, is reflected by a mirror 3 and illuminates the sample 1 by an objective lens 2. The light emitted from the sample 1 is made into afocal light by the lens 2, is reflected by the mirror 3 and the mirror 4 and is imaged to the position P by an imaging lens 5. Said light is observed by an eyepiece lens 6. An afocal system is constituted between the lens 2 and the lens 5. The imaging state in the position P does not change even if the optical path length between the mirror 3 and the mirror 4 is changed by moving forward and backward the lens 2 and the mirror 3 in an arrow direction and therefore the sample 1 is observed in an optional position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a microscope with a compact configuration that is capable of examining large samples.

Prior Art In general, a microscope basically consists of an objective lens, an eyepiece lens, a stage for holding a sample, etc., and when changing the position of the specimen, the microscope is held on the stage. The sample or the stage itself was moved in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. However, as the number of large samples is increasing, when observing these large samples, the stage on which the sample is placed is moved over a wide area, that is, the area A that should be observed in Figure 2.
Therefore, the entire microscope including the stage must be strong, and the movement mechanism of the stage must be large, and for example, due to the size of the sample to be observed. When the height doubles, the moving range of the stage increases four times, which means that the entire microscope becomes larger and the inertia of the stage itself increases, making it even more difficult to control positional accuracy. .

On the other hand, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-86020, a first objective lens and a second objective lens are provided, and by moving only the first objective lens in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, A method of changing the position of the microscope has been proposed, but this method requires a very large objective lens in order to change the position of the microscope over a wide range, and the magnification of the objective lens This method has the disadvantage that the observable range changes, and that a very large observation range cannot be obtained depending on the number of fields of view of the eyepiece.

OBJECTS In view of the above points, it is an object of the present invention to provide a microscope with a compact structure that allows the position of the microscope to be changed over a wide range of the sample when examining a large sample.

Overview This purpose is to configure a part of the observation optical system as an afocal system, and the part of the afocal system is disposed perpendicular to the optical axis of the objective lens, and its optical path length is The present invention is solved by a microscope characterized in that the objective lens is arranged to be extendable and retractable so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to its optical axis.

EXAMPLES The present invention will be explained based on examples shown in the drawings below.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a sample to be observed placed on a stage (not shown) of a microscope, 2 is an infinity objective lens, 3 is a mirror, 4 is a half mirror, 15 is an imaging lens, and 6 is an eyepiece lens. , 7 is an illumination light source, 8 is a collector lens, and the objective lens 2 and mirror 3 are disposed so as to be movable along the optical axis between the mirror 3 and the half mirror 4.

Since the present embodiment is constructed as described above, the light emitted from the illumination light source passes through the half mirror 4 via the collector lens 8, is reflected by the mirror 3, and is transmitted to the objective lens 2.
The sample 1 is then illuminated, and the light emitted from the thus illuminated sample 1 is turned into afocal light by the objective lens 2 and is reflected by the mirror 3. It is reflected by the half mirror 4 and formed into an image at a position P by the imaging lens 5, and this image is observed by the eyepiece lens 6. Here, objective lens 2. Mirror 3. half mirror
4. The observation optical system consisting of the imaging lens 5 and the eyepiece lens 6 is an afocal system between the objective lens 2 and the imaging lens 5, and the objective lens 2 and the mirror 3 are connected to the mirror 3.
Even if the entire optical path length between the mirror 3 and the half mirror 4 is changed by moving it forward and backward along the optical axis between the mirror 3 and the half mirror 4, the image formation state at the position X does not change. Observation of any position on the sample 1 can be performed. In this case, the movement range C of the objective lens 2 may be the same as the range A to be observed, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows a second practical embodiment of the invention.
10 is a first mirror that is disposed so as to be slidable in the X-axis direction along an X-axis guide 11 such as a dovetail joint together with the objective lens 2; 12 is the objective lens 2. A second mirror is disposed integrally with the first mirror 10 and the X-axis guide 11 so as to be slidable in the Y-axis direction along a Y-axis guide 13 configured similarly to the X-axis guide 11. , as in the embodiment shown in FIG. After being reflected in the axial direction and further reflected by the half mirror 4, an image is formed by the imaging lens 5, and this image is observed by the eyepiece lens 6. Therefore, the optical path length between the first mirror 10 and the second mirror 12 can be set by the Y-axis guide 13 by the x-axis guide 11 and the Y-axis guide 13. By adjusting, the objective lens 2 can be moved in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction without changing the imaging state,
Observation of any position on the sample 1 can be performed.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, a part of the observation optical system is configured as an afocal system, a part of the afocal system is disposed perpendicular to the optical axis of the objective lens, and Since the optical path length is made expandable and the objective lens is movable perpendicularly to the optical axis, the movement range of the objective lens can be the same as the observation range of the sample. When examining a large sample such as a silicon wafer, the position of the microscope can be changed over a wide range of the sample, and the entire microscope can be made compact, so the manufacturing cost of the microscope itself is low and space is saved. A very effective microscope can be obtained, which is very preferable from the viewpoint of.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a microscope according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the moving range of a conventional stage, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the moving range of an objective lens according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. . 1... Sample, 2... Objective lens, 3... Mirror, 4... Half mirror 15... Imaging lens, 6... Eyepiece, 7...・Lighting light source, 8...
...Collector lens, 10...First mirror, 1
1...X-axis guide, 12.°°°second mirror, 1
3...Y-axis guide. On Figure 2 Figure 4 Procedural amendment (voluntary) 1. Description of the case: Japanese Patent Application No. 59-129204 2, Title of the invention: Microscope 4, Agent: 19, 5-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105 Telephone: Tokyo (432) 4576 (6582) Patent attorney Yasushi Shinohara 5, Amendment Claims section and Detailed Description of the Invention section of the subject specification. 6. Subject of amendment (1) The scope of claims is corrected as attached. (2) “Large sample” on page 1, lines 13-14 of the specification.
``...'' in the structure was corrected to ``It was designed to allow the specimen to be examined over a wide area.'' (3) On page 3 of the specification tube, lines 6-8, “Large sample...
・Corrected ``in the configuration'' to ``When examining a sample, the position of the microscope was obtained over a wide range of the sample.'' (4) On page 3 of the specification, lines 11 to 16, "The observation optical system...
``In a microscope in which the objective optical system of the observation optical system is moved parallel to the field of view plane and the eyepiece optical system is fixed, the optical path length of a part of the observation optical system is I made it expandable and retractable,” he corrected. (5) On page 6 of the specification, lines 8-19, “The observation optical system...
... preferable, etc.," was changed to "In a microscope in which the objective optical system of the observation optical system is moved parallel to the field of view plane and the eyepiece optical system is fixed, the optical path length of a part of the observation optical system can be expanded and contracted. Because of the structure, when examining a large sample such as a brain slice or a large-diameter silicon wafer, the position of the microscope can be changed over a wide range of the sample.This is corrected as J.Claims: Observation optical system A microscope characterized in that the objective optical system is moved parallel to the viewing plane and the eyepiece optical system is fixed, and the optical path length of a part of the observation optical system is made expandable and retractable.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A part of the observation optical system is configured as an afocal system, and the part of the afocal system is arranged perpendicularly to the optical axis of the objective lens, and the optical path length thereof can be expanded and contracted, A microscope, characterized in that an objective lens is disposed so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to its optical axis.