Patent ID: 8041097

Claim:
A confocal microscope for obtaining a confocal image of an observation surface of an observation sample by moving a light-gathering position by each predetermined height, for extracting a pixel of maximum brightness for each pixel of the confocal image, and for generating a focused image in an entire moving region of the light-gathering position, comprising: light detecting unit for detecting light reflected from the observation sample via a pinhole; confocal image generating unit for generating a confocal image from a detection signal provided from said light detecting unit; first counting unit for counting a first number of pixels having a predetermined brightness level or lower among brightness levels of pixels of the confocal image; second counting unit for counting a second number of pixels obtained by extracting only a pixel that matches a predetermined condition for the confocal image; and boundary determining unit for determining a boundary of image capturing of the observation sample based on the first and the second numbers of pixels.