Patent ID: 7576910

Claim:
A microscope for observing a sample at a predetermined observation plane, comprising: an optical system comprising an objective lens and adapted to guide an image of the sample; objective lens driving means for driving the objective lens to achieve aberration correction for the sample; a solid immersion lens arranged at a position including an optical axis from the sample to the optical system; and controlling means for controlling the objective lens driving means, wherein the controlling means has a solid immersion lens mode, as a control mode, in which the aberration correction is carried out by controlling the driving of the objective lens via the objective lens driving means under a correction condition set based on a refractive index n 0 of the sample and a thickness t 0 of the sample up to the observation plane, and a refractive index n 1 , a thickness d 1 , a radius of curvature R 1 of the solid immersion lens, and further based on at least a geometric aberration I 2 appearing at the interface between the solid immersion lens and the sample given by I 2= n 1 ( n 0 2 −n 1 2 ) t 0 NA 2 /(2 n 0 3 ), where NA is a numerical aperture of the objective lens, wherein the objective lens comprises a first lens unit and a second lens unit arranged along the optical axis, and wherein the objective lens driving means comprises focusing means for changing a distance between the sample and the objective lens to carry out the focusing, and aberration correcting means for changing a spacing between the first lens unit and the second lens unit in the objective lens to carry out the aberration correction.