Patent ID: 7304281

Claim:
A confocal laser scanning microscope comprising: a laser beam source for outputting a laser beam; a laser optical system which irradiates a sample with the laser beam output by the laser beam source and which detects a measurement beam coming from the sample so as to acquire a confocal image of the sample; a light source which emits illumination light having an arbitrary wavelength; an optical-microscope optical system which directs the illumination light emitted from the light source to the laser optical system to illuminate the sample and which measures illumination light coming from the sample, thereby obtaining a non-confocal image of the sample; and a plurality of differential interference optical elements which are detachably insertable in optical axes of the laser optical system and the optical-microscope optical system, and which are used for detecting a measurement beam coming from the sample so as to acquire a differential interference image of the sample.