Patent ID: 7324271

Claim:
Laser-scanning microscope comprising: at least one detection radiation input, a detector, a pinhole installed in front of the detector, pinhole optics with variable transmission lengths and a fixed focal distance for focusing varying wavelengths of detected light onto the plane of the pinhole on a detection radiation path, which realizes imaging from infinite space into an image level with a finite conjugate distance, an optical fiber having an output, at least one light source launched via the optical fiber, a scan-objective lens a plurality of microscope-objective lenses, and collimator optics with a fixed focal distance and a variable conjugate distance down-stream from the fiber output, for transferring the point source at the fiber output with a numerical aperture into a parallel beam in the infinite space in front of the scan-objective lens, wherein the collimator optics include: at least first, second, and third groups of lenses, of which the first group has a positive refractive power, the second group has a negative refractive power, and the third group has a positive refractive power, and means for accomplishing relative movement between the second group of lenses and the first and third groups of lenses, wherein the relative movement between the second group of lenses and the first and third groups results in the rotation of the chromatic curve at a fixed focal distance, and wherein rotation of the chromatic curve for the illumination wavelength used results in a wavelength-dependent, at-least-partial compensation of the chromatic distortion of the microscope-objective lenses.