Patent ID: 7009763

Claim:
A microscope having a microscope beam path and including a plurality of light sources which provide excitation light of different wavelengths for irradiating a sample, means for imaging the excitation light towards the sample in the microscope beam path, whereby the sample emits excitation and wavelength-shifted emission light, a plurality of light diffracting means for feeding the excitation light into the microscope beam path by diffraction of the excitation light, for separating excitation light and wavelength-shifted emission light emitted by the sample in the microscope beam path by diffraction of the excitation light, and for simultaneously or individually feeding in different wavelengths and for independently regulating an excitation intensity of each of the light sources, detection means for detecting the wavelength-shifted emission light emitted by the sample following separation of the wavelength-shifted emission light from the excitation light by the diffracting means, wherein wavelength-shifted emission light is transmitted undiffracted through the light-diffracting means and the light diffracting means is so positioned with respect to the beam path and the detection means that only undiffracted light is detected by the detection means, wherein the light diffracting means are arranged on a common optical axis, and wherein the excitation light of each of the light sources is coupled into the microscope beam path by means of a separate on of the plurality of light diffracting means.