Patent ID: 7180662

Claim:
For use with an optical microscope, a stage assembly mountable on an optical microscope for orienting a sample into a desired focal position comprising: an X-axis plate operable for rectilinear sliding in the X-axis direction; a Y-axis plate mounted on the X-axis plate operable for rectilinear sliding in the Y-axis direction, the X-axis plate and the Y-axis plate defining an XY plate assembly; a Z-axis plate mounted on the XY plate assembly configured to carry a sample to be investigated; and a piezoelectric actuator mechanism interposed between the XY plate assembly and the Z-axis plate operable for rectilinear translation of the Z-axis plate, wherein the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis plates each includes an internal opening configured to allow passage of transmitted light and viewing of the sample by an objective lens of the optical microscope.