Patent ID: 7488931

Claim:
An optical zoom system for use in a confocal light scanning electron microscope with linear scanning and having an illuminating beam path and an objective for capturing an object to be imaged, the illuminating beam path having an illuminating beam path entrance pupil, and the objective having an objective entrance pupil, the optical zoom system being adapted for positioning in the illuminating beam path in front of the objective, the optical zoom system comprising: optical zoom entrance and exit pupils; means for adjusting the imaging length; means for adjusting the image magnification; means for adjusting the distance between the optical zoom entrance pupil and the optical zoom exit pupil in such a manner that an axially varying pupil position of the entrance pupil of the objective can be equilibrated; and means for maintaining the position of the objective entrance pupil while the means for adjusting the image magnification and the means for adjusting the imaging length are being adjusted, whereby the optical zoom system produces an intermediate image of the object and images the entrance pupil of the illuminating beam path with at least one of a variable magnification and a variable imaging length into the exit pupil.