Patent ID: 7764433

Claim:
A system for correcting optical aberrations in an optical device comprising an adaptive optical system, wherein the adaptive optical system comprises at least one adaptive optical element positioned in a pupil plane and is capable of correcting optical aberrations at a first depth of focus within a sample, wherein the adaptive optical element is capable of being reconfigured to correct for optical aberrations at a second depth within the sample, the second depth being different from the first depth, wherein the adaptive optical element shifts the optical path of a ray of light according to the following relationship: δ OP=D ( n 2 cos θ 2 −n 1 cos θ 1 ) wherein δOP=the shift in optical path, D=a depth of a point source within a sample from which the ray originates, n 1 =a refractive index of an atmosphere external to the sample, θ 1 =an angle relative to a surface of the sample at which the ray of light emerges from the sample and travels through the atmosphere after it emerges from the sample, n 2 =a refractive index of the sample, and θ 2 =an angle relative to the surface of the sample at which the ray of light travels through the sample.