An optical scanning microscope includes an illumination system having a light source portion emanating from a light source, first and second polarizing beam splitters, and first and second optical channels disposed between the beam splitters. The light source portion is configured to emit a first illumination light beam comprising light of a first main polarization direction and of a second main polarization direction. The first beam splitter is configured to guide the light primarily into the first and channels, respectively. The second beam splitter is configured to form a second illumination light beam from light of the first and second main polarization directions from the first channel and second channels, respectively. The first and second channels are configured to emit the light of the first and second main polarization directions from the first and second channels, respectively, so as to have different types of convergence.

A surgical microscope for visualizing a tissue region contains an illumination device with a light source and an illumination beam path for illuminating an object region with an object plane and an observation device having an observation beam path for imaging the object region with the object plane into an observation plane. A first polarizer can be coupled into the illumination beam path and is suitable for polarizing the illumination light in a first orientation. A polarizer, which can be coupled into the observation beam path, has a second orientation at an angle between 80° and 100° relative to the first orientation. In a first mode, the light source emits illumination light in a first wavelength range between 450 nm and 550 nm, the first polarizer is coupled into the illumination beam path, and the second polarizer is coupled into the observation beam path.

An observation apparatus includes a light source, a lens, a polarizer, a first prism, a condenser lens, an objective lens, a second prism, a ¼ wave plate, a lens, a polarization camera, and an analysis unit. Each of the first prism and the second prism is, for example, a Wollaston prism or a Nomarski prism. The ¼ wave plate inputs light output from the second prism, and outputs two circularly polarized light beams having different rotation directions. The polarization camera inputs two light beams being circularly polarized in different rotation directions by the ¼ wave plate, and acquires an interference image on an imaging plane for each of three or more polarization components.

This relates to systems and methods for measuring a concentration and type of substance in a sample at a sampling interface. The systems can include a light source, optics, one or more modulators, a reference, a detector, and a controller. The systems and methods disclosed can be capable of accounting for drift originating from the light source, one or more optics, and the detector by sharing one or more components between different measurement light paths. Additionally, the systems can be capable of differentiating between different types of drift and eliminating erroneous measurements due to stray light with the placement of one or more modulators between the light source and the sample or reference. Furthermore, the systems can be capable of detecting the substance along various locations and depths within the sample by mapping a detector pixel and a microoptics to the location and depth in the sample.

The invention relates to a system (1) for observing objects, including: a light source (3), a holder (12) able to receive a translucent or opaque substrate, a detector (7) able to collect the backscattered light from the interaction between the light emitted by light source (3) and the objects, a polarization splitter (9), and a quarter-wave plate (10), the splitter (9) and the quarter-wave plate (10) being arranged so that the splitter (9) directs the light emitted by the light source (3) toward the solid substrate and directs the backscattered light from the interaction between the light emitted by the light source (3) and the objects toward the detector (7).

A microscopic imaging system and a microscopic imaging method. The system includes: an illumination module configured to generate a laser illumination, an LCOS device located in a Fourier plane of the laser illumination and configured to modulate a phase of the laser illumination, a 4-F system configured to adjust a size of a light beam of the laser illumination, an excitation lens group configured to generate a point illumination focused in a sample plane, a detecting lens group configured to capture an image of a PSF of the point illumination, a camera sensor, and a controller configured to synchronously control a change in a phase pattern of the LCOS device and an image capture of the camera sensor.

A microscopy system includes a lens, an image sensor, a planar array of light sources, and a first and second polarizing filter. The lens is disposed between the array and the image sensor. The image sensor has a field of view and is positioned to capture an image of a sample in a target area. Each light source provides light from a different direction to the target area. The first polarizing filter and the second polarizing filter are each positioned at a rotation angle. A method of microscopy imaging includes illuminating a sample positioned in a target area of a lens with a light source from an array of light sources, acquiring a set of images by an image sensor of the illuminated sample, and performing a reconstruction algorithm on the set of images to generate a composite high-resolution image over the field of view of the image sensor.

A method for improving the lateral resolution of fluorescence microscopy using inhomogeneous surface wave microscopy is provided. The microscope includes a prism on which laterally-interfaced plasmonic nanofilms are deposited (here called metal 1 and metal 2, though materials other than metals may be used, see Claim 1). A propagating wave which has evanescent character along one spatial dimension, known as a surface plasmon polariton, is excited on the first metal nanofilm by focusing of monochromatic incident light with a particular incident angle through the prism. Propagation of the surface plasmon polariton across the interface between the metal 1 nanofilm and the metal 2 nanofilm creates a propagating wave with evanescent character in two spatial dimensions, known as an inhomogeneous surface plasmon polariton [3]. A key property of inhomogeneous surface plasmon polaritons is the external controllability of the evanescent character of the wave in both the axial and lateral dimensions, which imparts the ability to judiciously enhance lateral resolution of conventional total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy with only minor modifications to the device.

A polarizing device for a polarizing microscope, including: a base plate on which the polarizing microscope is fixed, a base support, a lower polarizing assembly, and an upper polarizing assembly. The base support is vertically disposed at one side of the base plate. The lower polarizing assembly is disposed at the lower-middle part of the base support, and the upper polarizing assembly is disposed at the upper part of the base support.

A lamellar bone observation microscope includes: a light source; a condenser lens for focusing light emitted by the light source onto a sample; an objective lens on an opposite side of the sample from the condenser lens; a first polarizing plate between the light source and the condenser lens to pass only a polarization component of the light emitted by the light source; a second polarizing plate configured to pass only a polarization component of the light passed through the sample in accordance with a relative positional relationship with the first polarizing plate; a first wave plate between the first polarizing plate and the condenser lens to introduce a phase difference of λ/4 in a γ direction of the light passed through the first polarizing plate; and a second wave plate for introducing a phase difference of λ/4 in a γ direction of the light passed through the objective lens.