Patent ID: 9645376
Date: 2017-05-09
CPC Classifications: G01N,G02B

Claim:
1. A scanner head for high-resolution scanning fluorescence microscopy comprising a housing, a first connector arranged on or in the housing and configured to connect the scanner head to a light microscope, second connectors arranged on or in the housing and configured to connect the scanner head to an external light source and an external fluorescence light detector via fiber optical waveguides, a beam shaper encased in the housing and arranged between the second connectors and the first connector and configured to shape light from the external light source into a light beam and tilting mirrors encased in the housing and arranged between the beam shaper and the first connector and configured to deflect the light beam by different deflection angles in such a way that a sample into which the light beam is focused by the light microscope is scanned in two different directions by the light beam, while fluorescence light from the sample is guided back to the second connectors, wherein the first connector is configured to connect the scanner head to a mount of the light microscope, the mount having a first defined relative position with regard to an intermediate image of the sample imaged by the light microscope so that the intermediate image has a second defined relative position with regard to the tilting mirrors, wherein the second connectors comprise a first optical waveguide port configured to receive the light from the light source and a separate second optical waveguide port configured to output the fluorescence light to the detector, wherein a deflector is arranged between the tilting mirrors and the first optical waveguide port and configured to deflect the fluorescence light to the second optical waveguide port, wherein the beam shaper is configured to shape a first part of the light from the light source into a first light intensity distribution in the focus of the light microscope comprising an intensity minimum surrounded by intensity maxima and a second part of the light from the light source into a second light intensity distribution in the focus of the light microscope comprising an intensity maximum at the location of the intensity minimum of the first light intensity distribution, and wherein the tilting mirrors include four tilting mirrors each having a drive and a tilting axis wherein the four drives are configured to be controlled independently of each other in order to tilt the four tilting mirrors around their respective tilting axes.