A method for generating a control signal is provided. The method includes the steps of decomposing a desired movement into two partial movements which are separately equalized, and the desired control signal is obtained by summing up the corrected components. The first movement is a slowly (mostly linear) changing long-period (period T1) movement, and the second movement is a short-period (period T2) movement, wherein the period T1 is substantially longer than the period T2. The movements have to a large extent opposing temporal derivations which are nevertheless equal in magnitude so that their sum has a time derivative that is zero. In addition, a method is provided for operating a scanning unit periodically displaceable in an infeed direction by an infeed distance.

A microscope comprising an illumination assembly, an image capture device and a processor can be configured to selectively identify regions of a sample comprising artifacts or empty space. By selectively identifying regions of the sample that have artifacts or empty space, the amount of time to generate an image of the sample and resources used to generate the image can be decreased substantially while providing high resolution for appropriate regions of the computational image. The processor can be configured to change the imaging process in response to regions of the sample that comprises artifacts or empty space. The imaging process may comprise a higher resolution process to output higher resolution portions of the computational image for sample regions comprising valid sample material, and a lower resolution process to output lower resolution portions of the computational image for sample regions comprising valid sample material.

Beam deflection units in light-scanning microscopes are usually arranged in planes that are conjugate to the objective pupil. The scan optics, which is required for generating the conjugate pupil planes, is complicated and not very light efficient. The invention is intended to enable a higher image quality, simpler adjustment and a lower light loss microscope.

The optical system comprises a concave mirror (36) for imaging a respective point of the first and second beam deflection units (30A, 30B) onto one another. The concave mirror (36), the first beam deflection unit (30A), and the second beam deflection unit (30B) are arranged such that the illumination beam path is reflected exactly once at the concave mirror (36). A first distortion caused by the concave mirror (36) and a second distortion of the imaging caused by the first and second beam deflection units (30A, 30B) at least partly compensate for one another.

A variable focal length (VFL) imaging system comprises a camera system, a first high speed variable focal length (VFL) lens, a second high speed variable focal length (VFL) lens, a first relay lens comprising a first relay focal length, a second relay lens comprising a second relay focal length, and a lens controller. The first relay lens and the second relay lens are spaced relative to one another along an optical axis of the VFL imaging system by a distance which is equal to a sum of the first relay focal length and the second relay focal length. The first high speed VFL lens and the second high speed VFL lens are spaced relative to one another along the optical axis on opposite sides of an intermediate plane which is located at a distance equal to the first relay focal length from the first relay lens. The lens controller is configured to provide synchronized periodic modulation of the optical power of the first high speed VFL lens and the optical power of the second high speed VFL lens.

Generating a composite image of a non-flat surface includes: acquiring, using a microscope, multiple images of different areas of the non-flat surface, where each image includes a region of overlap with at least one adjacent image, the microscope having sufficient resolution to image in three dimensions a microstructure on the non-flat surface having a lateral dimension of 10 microns or less and a height of 10 nm or less; determining, for each of the images, a set of rigid body parameters relating a position and orientation of the test object in the image to a common coordinate system, where the set of rigid body parameters is determined by fitting the resolved microstructure in the overlap region in the image with the corresponding microstructure in the overlap region of the adjacent image; and combining the images based on the sets of rigid body parameters to generate a composite image.

A scanning microscope includes a scanner, an objective irradiates a sample with illumination light deflected by the scanner, and a beam splitter that is arranged between the objective and an exit pupil position, and that reflects one of the illumination light and observation light from the sample and transmits the other. The objective has the exit pupil position outside the objective.

A photoacoustic microscope objective lens unit includes: an objective lens which irradiates a sample with excitation light L; a photoacoustic wave detection unit which detects a photoacoustic wave U generated from the sample; and a photoacoustic wave guide system. The photoacoustic wave guide system includes: a photoacoustic wave separation member; and an acoustic lens that is disposed between the photoacoustic wave separation member and the sample and has a focus position that substantially matches with a focus position of the objective lens. The acoustic lens is obtained by cementing a main acoustic lens and a correction acoustic lens to each other. The main acoustic lens and the correction acoustic lens satisfy predetermined Conditional Expressions.

The solid immersion lens unit includes: a solid immersion lens having a contact surface allowed to be in contact with an inspection object and a spherical surface allowed to be opposite to an objective lens; a holder holding the solid immersion lens; a magnet provided to the holder; and a spherical body rotatably held by a magnetic force of the magnet at a position opposite to the spherical surface. The holder swingably holds the solid immersion lens in a state where the spherical surface is in contact with the spherical body.

A microscope has a light source for generating a light beam having a wavelength, λ, and beam-forming optics configured for receiving the light beam and generating a Bessel-like beam that is directed into a sample. The beam-forming optics include an excitation objective having an axis oriented in a first direction. Imaging optics are configured for receiving light from a position within the sample that is illuminated by the Bessel-like beam and for imaging the received light on a detector. The imaging optics include a detection objective having an axis oriented in a second direction that is non-parallel to the first direction. A detector is configured for detecting signal light received by the imaging optics, and an aperture mask is positioned.

A laser-scanning microscope having an illumination-beam path and a detection-beam path and a microscope objective. A component for generating a plurality of scanning beams from at least one illumination beam is located in the illumination-beam path. A wedge-shaped, light-transmitting first component part provided in the illumination beam path generates spatially offset partial beams, the scanning beams being generated at the first component part by multiple reflections at an at least partially partially-reflecting surface. The microscope has a one-dimensional scanner for moving the scanning beams over a sample in the illumination beam path. The scanning beams have at least partially relative to one another a non-zero angle upstream of the objective in the illumination direction. The scanning beams can intersect at least partially in the objective pupil of the microscope objective. Additional compensation elements are provided for the scanning beams to compensate for a spectral dispersion and/or the beam direction.