Patent ID: 7304791

Claim:
An optical microscope apparatus comprising: illuminating means having a single point light source; an optical converging system which focuses a single beam of illumination light from the illuminating means, at a converging point; a sample mounting table for mounting a sample between said illuminating means and said converging point; an objective lens positioned after said converging point in an optical path, such that said illumination light is incident thereon; wherein the illumination light is transmitted through the sample mounted on the sample mounting table and then converges at the converging point in said optical path; and a spatial filter, disposed at a position of a diffraction image plane which is orthogonal to an optical axis of said illumination light, including said converging point in said optical path, which selectively blocks a part of said illumination light transmitted through said sample, wherein said objective lens is adapted to be focused on either one of said diffraction image plane and said sample.