Patent Abstract:
The invention discloses a scanning microscope ( 1 ) having a laser ( 2 ), which emits a light beam of a first wavelength ( 5, 43, 53 ) and is directed onto an optical element ( 9 ) that modifies the wavelength of the light beam at least to some extent. Means ( 16 ) for suppressing the light of the first wavelength in the modified-wavelength light beam ( 5, 47, 57 ) are provided.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This invention claims priority of the German patent applications 100 30 013.8 and 101 15 590.5 which are incorporated by reference herein. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a scanning microscope having a laser that emits a light beam of a first wavelength, which is directed onto an optical element that modifies the wavelength of the light beam at least to some extent. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In scanning microscopy, a sample is scanned with a light beam. To that end, lasers are often used as the light source. For example, an arrangement having a single laser which emits several laser lines is known from EP 0 495 930: “Laser for confocal microscope”. Mixed gas lasers, especially ArKr lasers, are mainly used for this at present. 
     Examples of samples which are studied include biological tissue or sections prepared with fluorescent dyes. In the field of material study, illumination light reflected from the sample is often detected. 
     Solid-state lasers and dye lasers, as well as fiber lasers and optical parametric oscillators (OPOs), upstream of which a pump laser is arranged, are also used. 
     Laid-open patent specification DE 198 53 669 A1 discloses an ultrashort-pulse source with controllable multiple-wavelength output, which is used especially in a multiphoton microscope. The system has an ultrashort-pulse laser for producing ultrashort optical pulses of a fixed wavelength and at least one wavelength conversion channel. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,870 discloses an arrangement for generating a broadband spectrum in the visible spectral range. The arrangement is based on a microstructured fiber, into which the light from a pump laser is injected. The wavelength of the pump light is modified in the microstructured fiber so that the resulting spectrum has both wavelengths above and wavelengths below the wavelength of the pump light. 
     So-called photonic band gap material or “photonic crystal fibers”, “holey fibers” or “microstructured fibers” are also employed as microstructured material. Configurations as a so-called “hollow fiber” are also known. 
     Solid-state lasers, such as e.g. the Ti:sapphire lasers commonly used in scanning microscopy, usually have a folded resonator with x or z geometry, which is formed by two end mirrors and two folding mirrors. The light from a pump laser is in this case injected longitudinally in the resonator through one of the folding mirrors, which are transparent for light at the wavelength of the pump light. In the optically active medium (in the example, Ti:sapphire), the latter converts to another wavelength and leaves the resonator as output light through one of the end mirrors, which is designed to be semitransparent for the output light. Since the resonator mirrors are not fully transparent for the wavelength of the pump light, the output light still contains small fractions of light at the wavelength of the pump light. This more especially causes interference in multicolour fluorescence microscopy, since the sample is not illuminated and excited exclusively with light at the desired wavelength, but also with light at the wavelength of the pump light. This causes undesired fluorescences, artefacts and in the final analysis, since components of the pump light also reach the detector by reflection and scattering, leads to incorrect study results. 
     All known arrangements for wavelength modification have this disadvantage. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a scanning microscope with a flexible illumination which avoids the illumination of a sample with light of unwanted wavelengths. 
     The object is achieved by a scanning microscope comprising: a laser that emits a light beam of a first wavelength, an optical element that modifies the wavelength of the light beam at least to some extent and means for suppressing the light of the first wavelength in the modified-wavelength light beam. 
     The invention has the advantage that the undesired illumination of the sample by light of the first wavelength is avoided. 
     In a simple configuration, a filter is provided for suppressing the light of the first wavelength. It is preferably designed as a dielectric cut-off filter or as a coloured-glass filter. Especially when using microstructured material, such as photonic band gap material, for modifying the wavelength in such a way as to create a broad spectrum, it is advantageous to configure the filter in such a way, for example by corresponding coating, that the first wavelength is not fully suppressed but rather, within the modified-wavelength light beam, has the same power as the other components of equal spectral width. 
     In another configuration, the means for suppressing the light of the first wavelength contains a prism or a grating for spatial spectral spreading, downstream of which an aperture arrangement, which transmits only light of the desired illumination wavelength and blocks light that has the first wavelength, is arranged. 
     The suppression means can be fitted at arbitrary points within the beam path of the scanning microscope. It is particularly advantageous to arrange the suppression means directly behind the optical element, in order to prevent scattering and reflection of the light components of the first wavelength by other optical parts, since such components can reach the detector in this way. 
     In a preferred configuration of the scanning microscope, the optical element is constructed from a plurality of micro-optical structure elements, which have at least two different optical densities. 
     A more particularly preferred configuration is one in which the optical element contains a first region and a second region, the first region having a homogeneous structure and a microstructure comprising micro-optical structure elements being formed in the second region. It is also advantageous if the first region encloses the second region. The micro-optical structural elements are preferably cannulas, webs, honeycombs, tubes or cavities. 
     In another configuration, the optical element includes adjacent glass or plastic material and cavities, and is configured as an optical fiber. 
     A more particularly preferred alternative embodiment, which is simple to implement, contains a conventional optical fiber having a fiber core, which has a taper at least along a subsection, as the optical element. Optical fibers of this type are known as so-called “tapered fibers”. The optical fiber preferably has an overall length of 1 m and a taper over a length of from 30 mm to 90 mm. The diameter of the fiber, in a preferred configuration, is 150 μm outside the region of the taper, and that of the fiber core in this region is approximately 8 μm. In the region of the taper, the diameter of the fiber is reduced to approximately 2 μm. The fiber core diameter is correspondingly in the nanometer range. 
     In another embodiment, the optical element is a further laser. It may be designed as a solid-state, gas or dye laser, or as an optical parametric oscillator (OPO). 
     In a particular alternative embodiment, the optical element contains a frequency-multiplication crystal, such as e.g. KDP crystals or LBO crystals. 
     Another configuration contains a further optical element, which is arranged downstream of the optical element and remodifies the wavelength of the modified-wavelength light beam. In this embodiment, it is particularly advantageous to suppress both the light of the first wavelength and the light whose wavelength was initially modified. Specifically, such a configuration contains, for example, a sequential arrangement of an argon-ion laser, a dye laser and a frequency-doubling crystal. A sequential arrangement of an argon-ion laser, a Ti:sapphire laser and, configured as an optical fiber, a micro-optical structure made of photonic band gap material is particularly advantageous. 
     The scanning microscope may be configured as a confocal microscope. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The subject matter of the invention is diagrammatically represented in the drawings and will be described below with the aid of the figures, in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows confocal scanning microscope according to the invention, 
     FIG. 2 shows a part of the illumination beam path of a scanning microscope, 
     FIG. 3 shows a part of the illumination beam path of another scanning microscope, and 
     FIG. 4 shows a part of the illumination beam path of a further scanning microscope 
     FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the optical fiber made of photonic band gap material, which has a special honeycombed microstructure  69 . The honeycomb structure that is shown is especially suitable for generating broadband light. The diameter of the glass inner cannula  71  is approximately 1.9 μm. The inner cannula  71  is surrounded by glass webs  73 . The glass webs  73  form honeycombed cavities  75 . These micro optical elements together form a second region  77 , which is enclosed by a first region  79  that is designed as a glass cladding. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 shows a confocal scanning microscope  1 , which contains a laser  2  for producing a light beam  5  having a first wavelength of about 800 nm. The laser is embodied as a mode-locked titanium-sapphire laser  3 . The light beam  5  is focused by an input lens  7  into the end of an optical element  9  for wavelength modification, which is designed as an optical fiber made of photonic band gap material  11 . To collimate the modified-wavelength light beam  15  emerging from the optical fiber made of photonic band gap material  11 , an output lens  13  is provided. The spectrum of the modified-wavelength light beam is virtually continuous over the wavelength range from 300 nm to 1600 nm, the light power being substantially constant over the entire spectrum; only in the vicinity of the first wavelength of 800 nm is a drastic power increase to be recorded. The modified-wavelength light beam  15  passes through a dielectric filter  17  as suppression means  16 , which reduces the power, in the modified-wavelength light beam  15 , of the light component in the vicinity of the first wavelength to the level of the other wavelengths of the modified-wavelength light beam. The modified-wavelength light beam is subsequently focused by the lens  19  onto an illumination aperture  21 , and then travels via the main beam splitter  23  to the scanning mirror  25 , which guides the modified-wavelength light beam  15  through the scanning lens  27 , the tube lens  29  and the objective  31 , and over the sample  33 . The detection light  35 , which is represented by dashes in the drawing, leaving the sample  33  travels through the objective  31 , the tube lens  29  and the scanning lens  27  back to the scanning mirror  25 , and then to the main beam splitter  23 , whereupon it is transmitted by the latter and, after having passed through the detection aperture  37 , it is detected by the detector  39  which is embodied as a photomultiplier. 
     FIG. 2 shows the part of the illumination beam path of a scanning microscope as far as the main beam splitter  23 . In this exemplary embodiment, a laser  2 , which is configured as an argon-ion laser  41 , produces a light beam  43  having a first wavelength of 514 nm, which is directed onto a titanium-sapphire laser  45  that is used as the optical element  9  for wavelength modification. The modified-wavelength light beam  47  leaving the titanium-sapphire laser  45  has a wavelength of approximately 830 nm and subsequently strikes the means  16  for suppressing the first wavelength, which is embodied as a colour filter  49  and almost completely filters out the components of the first wavelength, so that the modified-wavelength light beam essentially consists only of light at a wavelength of 830 nm. 
     FIG. 3 shows the part of the illumination beam path of a further scanning microscope as far as the main beam splitter  23 . In this exemplary embodiment, a laser  2 , which is configured as an Nd-YAG laser  51 , produces a light beam  53  having a first wavelength of 1064 nm, which is directed onto an optical parametric oscillator  55  that is used as the optical element  9  for wavelength modification. The modified-wavelength light beam  57  leaving the optical parametric oscillator  55  contains, in addition to the light at the desired signal wavelength, light at the idler wavelength and light at the first wavelength; it is spread with the aid of a prism  59 , as the means for spatial spectral splitting  60 , and subsequently strikes an aperture arrangement  61  whose aperture blocks  63 ,  65  are positioned in such a way that the light at the idler wavelength and light at the first wavelength is blocked, so that the light beam passing through the aperture arrangement  61  essentially contains only light at the signal wavelength. 
     FIG. 4 shows the part of the illumination beam path of another scanning microscope as far as the main beam splitter  23 , which largely corresponds to the structure shown in FIG.  3 . Here, however, a grating  67  is used as the means for spatial spectral splitting  60 . 
     FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the optical fiber made of photonic band gap material, which has a special honeycombed microstructure  69 . The honeycomb structure that is shown is especially suitable for generating broadband light. The diameter of the glass inner cannula  71  is approximately 1.9 μm. The inner cannula  71   
     The invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment. It is, however, obvious that modifications and amendments may be made without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the following claims. 
     PARTS LIST 
       1  scanning microscope 
       2  laser 
       3  titanium-sapphire laser 
       5  light beam 
       7  input lens 
       9  optical element 
       11  optical fiber made of photonic band gap material 
       13  output lens 
       15  modified-wavelength light beam 
       16  suppression means 
       17  dielectric filter 
       19  lens 
       21  illumination aperture 
       23  main beam splitter 
       25  scanning mirror 
       27  scanning lens 
       29  tube lens 
       31  objective 
       33  sample 
       35  detection light 
       37  detection aperture 
       39  detector 
       41  argon-ion laser 
       43  light beam 
       45  titanium-sapphire laser 
       47  modified-wavelength light beam 
       49  colour filter 
       51  Nd-YAG laser 
       53  light beam of a first wavelength 
       55  optical parametric oscillator 
       57  modified-wavelength light beam 
       59  prism 
       60  means for spatial spectral splitting 
       61  aperture arrangement 
       63  aperture 
       65  aperture 
       67  grating 
       69  microstructure 
       71  cannulas 
       73  web 
       75  cavity 
       77  second region 
       79  first region

Technology Classification (CPC): 1