Patent Document ID: 20160013015
Application ID: 14752570
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A method of accumulating an image of a specimen using a scanning-type microscope, comprising the following steps: Directing a beam of radiation from a source through an illuminator so as to irradiate a surface S of the specimen; Using a detector to detect a flux of radiation emanating from the specimen in response to said irradiation; Causing said beam to follow a scan path relative to said surface; For each of a set of sample points in said scan path, recording an output D n of the detector as a function of a value P n of a selected measurement parameter P, thus compiling a measurement set M={(D n , P n )}, where n is a member of an integer sequence; Using computer processing apparatus to automatically deconvolve the measurement set M and spatially resolve it so as to produce reconstructed imagery of the specimen, characterized in that, considered at a given point p i within the specimen, the method comprises the following steps: In a first probing session, employing a first beam configuration B 1 to irradiate the point p i with an associated first Point Spread Function F 1 , whereby said beam configuration is different to said measurement parameter; In at least a second probing session, employing a second beam configuration B 2 to irradiate the point p i with an associated second Point Spread Function F 2 , whereby: F 2 overlaps partially with F 1 in a common overlap zone O i in which point p i is located; F 1 and F 2 have respective non-overlapping zones F 1 ′ and F 2 ′ outside of O i , Using a Source Separation algorithm in said computer processing apparatus to perform image reconstruction in said overlap zone O i considered separately from said non-overlapping zones F 1 ′ and F 2 ′.