Both light stimulation of a specimen at a high intensity and detailed fluorescence observation at a low intensity are realized by using a single laser light source. Provided is a laser scanning microscope apparatus (1) including a laser light source (11) that generates laser light; output-power control portion (13) that can set an output power of the laser light source (11) by changing the output power in a step-wise manner; an AOTF (15) that can adjust a light level of the laser light emitted from the laser light source (11) in a step-wise manner at a resolution that is finer than a resolution at which the output-power control portion (13) changes the output power of the laser light source (11); and an observation device (17) that scans the laser light whose light level has been adjusted by the AOTF (15) on a specimen and that detects fluorescence generated at the specimen.

A generator of short optical pulses includes: a generator of optical pulses with a wavelength equal to /2 and a spectral width less than /3; a generator of optical pulses of a duration less than 10 picoseconds at a wavelength /3; a device for recombining the pulses from the generators; a parametric amplification device receiving the output of the recombination device as input; a filter extracting, from the output of the amplification device, a band centered about a wavelength ; a second harmonic generator receiving the output of the filter and generating a band centered over a wavelength /2; and a programmable device making it possible to temporally adjust the pulses corresponding to the bands, in order to allow for the generation of a pulse with a wavelength equal to /3 and of a duration less than the period of the optical cycle.

A method and apparatus for actuating an acousto-optical component for manipulating light passing therethrough, in particular for manipulating the illumination and/or detection light in the beam path of a microscope, preferably a laser scanning microscope, where the illumination and/or detection wavelength is adjusted by means of at least one frequency generator connected to the acousto-optical component and controlling the manipulation, the frequency generator generates a signal which generates a spectral spread for the intensity distribution of the wavelength of the illumination and/or detection light for ensuring a temperature-independent manipulation. Actuation is effected by two or more actuation signals in such a way that two or more overlapping and/or superposing main lobes of the transfer function of the acousto-optical component or main maxima are generated.

A micromachining system includes a laser generator, an acousto-optical deflector (AOD), and at least one signal generator. The laser generator is configured to generate a laser beam, and the at least one AOD is positioned in a path of the laser beam. The at least one acoustic signal generator is configured to generate at least two acoustic signals, including a first acoustic signal having a periodic waveform and a second acoustic signal having a freeform waveform. The at least one acoustic signal generator is further configured to apply the first acoustic signal to the AOD to output a deflected laser beam having a Gaussian profile, and apply the second acoustic signal to the AOD to adjust the Gaussian profile of the deflected laser beam to a modified profile.

The invention relates to an acousto-optic main beam splitter for a scanning microscope, which is embodied and intended to direct illuminating light having a preselected or preselectable illuminating light wavelength into an illumination beam path for illumination of a sample, and to direct detected light coming from a sample into a detection beam path. The acousto-optic main beam splitter is characterized in that a mechanical wave having an acoustic frequency associated with the illuminating light wavelength propagates, or multiple mechanical waves that have the same acoustic frequency associated with the illuminating light wavelength propagate, in the acousto-optic main beam splitter, both a portion of the detected light bundle having the illuminating light wavelength and a first linear polarization direction, and a portion of the detected light having the illuminating light wavelength and a second linear polarization direction perpendicular to the first linear polarization direction, being deflected out of the detected light bundle coming from a sample by interaction with the one mechanical wave or by interaction with the mechanical waves, and are thereby removed from the detected light bundle; and/or the acousto-optic main beam splitter being embodied to direct, by interaction with the one mechanical wave or by interaction with the mechanical waves, both the portion of illuminating light that has the preselected illuminating light wavelength and a first linear polarization direction, and the portion of illuminating light that has the preselected illuminating light wavelength and a second linear polarization direction that is different from, in particular perpendicular to, the first linear polarization direction, into an illumination beam path for illumination of a sample.

Provided are a light source apparatus and an inspection apparatus that can stably output a wavelength converted light beam. A light source apparatus includes a laser light source that generates a first fundamental light beam, at least one nonlinear optical crystal that generates a wavelength converted light beam using the fundamental light beam or a harmonic laser beam of the fundamental light beam as an incident light beam, a detector that detects the wavelength converted light beam, an acousto-optic modulator that is disposed in an optical path of the incident light beam in such a way that a zero-order light beam enters the nonlinear optical crystal, and a controller that controls an output intensity of the wavelength converted light beam according to a detection signal from the detector.

A method and a system for scanning a time delay between a first ultrafast optical pulse of duration shorter than 10 ps and a second ultrafast optical pulse of duration shorter than 10 ps, wherein the second ultrafast pulse is submitted to an acousto-optic Bragg diffraction by an acoustic pulse in the bulk of an acousto-optic material and the delay scanning is produced by time variation of the acoustic pulse in the material.

A microscope with at least one illumination beam that is phase modulated in a section along its cross-section with a modulation frequency and a microscope lens for focusing the illumination beam into a test as well as a detection beam path and at least one means of demodulation, wherein at least one polarization altering item is scheduled in the illuminating beam path, for which a phase plate is subordinated that exhibits at least two areas with different phase influence.

A second embodiment involves a microscope with at least one illumination beam and a microscope lens for focusing the illumination beam into a test as well as a detection beam path with at least one demodulator, wherein the illumination beam is set up alternatingly on at least two beam paths, and an element in one of the beam paths is scheduled to generate a field mode different from that of the first beam path, and the two beam paths are overlaid with different field modes in the focus.

Generator of short optical pulses includes: a generator of optical pulses with a wavelength equal to /2 and a spectral width less than /3; a generator of optical pulses of a duration less than 10 picoseconds at a wavelength /3; a device for recombining the pulses from the generators; a parametric amplification device receiving the output of the recombination device as input; a filter extracting, from the output of the amplification device, a band centred about a wavelength ; a second harmonic generator receiving the output of the filter and generating a band centred over a wavelength /2; a programmable device making it possible to temporally adjust the pulses corresponding to the bands, in order to allow for the generation of a pulse with a wavelength equal to /3 and of a duration less than the period of the optical cycle.

A gaming machine comprising a display, and a game controller that at least: selects a first set of symbols, causes the display to display the first set of symbols at a first set of display positions and conducts a random selection process so that a second set of display positions has an overlapping spatial relationship with a first set of display positions. The random selection process includes a first type of outcome where a designated number of special symbols is selected and a second type of outcome where less than the designated number of special symbols is selected. Upon the occurrence of the second type of outcome, the game controller displays the less than the designated number of special symbols selected at either individual ones of the first set of display positions or of the second set of display positions, and triggers a feature game for conducting feature game play.