Patent ID: 7561326

Claim:
Confocal laser scanning microscope for the detection of at least one specimen region, comprising: illuminating means for providing a line-shaped illuminating beam for illuminating a specimen in several points or regions in parallel, an illuminating beam path traveled by the illuminating beam, scanning means for guiding the illuminating beam over the specimen while scanning and for descanning radiation emitted by the specimen, detector means for simultaneously detecting several illuminated specimen points lying on a line, the detector means including: (a) at least one detector unit, and (b) confocal image producing means for producing an at least partially confocal image of the specimen from the descanned radiation and imaging it onto the at least one detector unit, the confocal image producing means including a slit aperture unit comprising a slider and a plurality of fixed-width slits on the slider, each of the slits being stationary in its position on the slider and having a slit width different from the slit widths of the other slits, wherein the slit width establishes the depth of focus with which the descanned radiation can be detected, and wherein the confocal image is imaged through a single one of the slits, and the slider is movable to change the slit through which the confocal image is imaged.