Patent ID: 7477380
Filing Date: 2009-01-13
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
1. A scanning microscope for imaging an object, comprising: a light source; a spectrally selective detection device; an illumination beam path extending from the light source to the object; a detection beam path extending from the object to the detection device, at least one wavelength range of light extending along the detection beam path being detectable using the spectrally selective detection device; a spectrally selective element useable to select light from the light source so as to illuminate the object, the spectrally selective element being useable to mask out of the detection beam path the selected light from the light source reflected or scattered on the object; an illumination slit diaphragm disposed in the illumination beam path and configured to generate a linear illumination pattern in a region of the object; a detection slit diaphragm disposed in the detection beam path and configured to receive light coming from the linear illumination region from a focal plane so as to provide a confocal slit scanner; and a spectral splitting device configured to spectrally split the light extending along the detection beam path so as to provide spectrally split light including spatial information along a first direction and spectral information along a second direction; wherein at least one of a slit length and a slit width of at least one of the illumination slit diaphragm and the detection slit diaphragm are variably settable.