An observation device includes: a stage on which a vessel in which a subject is stored is installed; an image-forming optical system that includes an objective lens forming an image of the subject stored in the vessel; a scan control unit that moves the stage with respect to the image-forming optical system to scan each observation position in the vessel by the image-forming optical system; and an acceleration-determination-information acquisition unit that acquires at least one piece of information among information about the subject, information about the vessel, information about an observation method, or information about an observation condition. The scan control unit controls an acceleration of the stage on the basis of the at least one piece of information.

A method for high-resolution scanning microscopy of a sample in which a sample is illuminated at a point in or on the sample by means of illumination radiation. The point is imaged along an optical axis and according to a point spread function into a diffraction image on a spatially resolving surface detector that comprises detector pixels in which a diffraction structure of the diffraction image is resolved. The point is displaced relative to the sample in at least two scanning directions and pixel signals are read from the detector pixels in various scanning posi- tions, wherein the pixel signals are respectively assigned to that scanning position at which they were read out and adjacent scanning positions overlap one another and are disposed according to a scanning increment. An image of the sample having a resolution that is increased beyond a resolution limit of the imaging is generated from the read pixel signals and the assigned scanning positions, wherein a deconvolution is carried out. Intermediate positions are generated for at least one of the scanning directions in the deconvolution on the basis of the pixel signals and the image of the sample, which contains more image points than scanning positions, is generated.

A sample observation device (1) includes: an emission optical system (3) for emitting planar light (L2) onto a sample (S); a scanning unit (4) for scanning the sample (S) with respect to an emission face (R) of the planar light (L2); an imaging optical system (5) having an observation axis (P2) inclined with respect to the emission face (R) and for forming an image from observation light (L3) generated in the sample (S) in accordance with the emission of the planar light (L2); an image acquiring unit (6) for acquiring a plurality of partial image data corresponding to a part of an optical image according to the observation light (L3) formed as an image by the imaging optical system (5); and an image generating unit (8) for generating observation image data of the sample S based on the plurality of partial image data generated by the image acquiring unit (6).

A microscope having three-dimensional imaging capability and a three-dimensional microscopic imaging method are provided, the microscope including: at least one excitation device configured to generate a detectable contrast in a detection target region of a sample which is to be detected, in an excitation principal axis direction; at least one detection device, configured to detect the contrast as generated from the detection target region of the sample in a detection principal axis; and at least one movement mechanism, configured to generate a relative movement of the sample relative to the excitation device and the detection device; the relative movement is in a direction neither parallel to nor perpendicular to the excitation principal axis direction or the detection principal axis direction.

A method for the high-resolution scanning microscopy of a specimen where the specimen is illuminated with illuminating radiation such that the illuminating radiation is focused to a diffraction-limited illuminating spot at a point in or on the specimen. The point is projected in a diffraction-limited manner in a diffraction image onto a flat panel detector having pixels. The flat panel detector, owing to the pixels thereof, have a spatial resolution which resolves a diffraction structure of the diffraction image. The point is shifted relative to the specimen into different scanning positions by an increment which is smaller than the diameter of the illuminating spot. The flat panel detector is read, and, from the data of the flat panel detector and from the scanning positions assigned to these data, a 3D image of the specimen is generated. The 3D image has a resolution which is greater than a resolution limit of the projection, and the pixels of the flat panel detector are divided into groups which have a central group lying on an optical axis and a further group which surrounds the central group in a ring. A pre-calculated raw image is calculated for each group and the pre-calculated raw images are unfolded three-dimensionally to generate the image of the specimen.

A method of excitation microscopy, in particular STimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy,ins provided which comprises: providing a sample; trapping an object in the sample at a trapping position, in particular by applying a position dependent trapping force to the object; positioning, in particular focusing, a depletion beam at an interaction position in the sample for illumination of a portion of the sample associated with the trapped object. The method comprises at least one of controlling the depletion beam such that, at least when the depletion beam is positioned at the interaction position, an optical force exerted by the depletion beam on the object causes a displacement of the object less than the optical resolution, preferably less than half the optical resolution of an imaging system for observing a STED fluorescence; and controlling at least one of the depletion beam and the trapping force on the object such that, at least when the depletion beam is positioned at the interaction position, an optical force exerted by the depletion beam on the object is less than 5% of the trapping force, preferably less than 3%, more preferably less than 1%. An according system is also provided.

A light microscope has a light source for illuminating a specimen, a sensor array comprised of photon-counting detector elements for measuring detection light coming from the specimen, and a control device for controlling the sensor array. The control device is configured for flexibly binning the photon-counting detector elements into one or more super-pixels.

A multi-depth confocal imaging system includes at least one light source configured to provide excitation beams and an objective lens. The excitation beams are focused into a sample at a first plurality of focus depths along an excitation direction through the objective lens. An image sensor receives emissions from the sample via the objective lens, wherein the emissions define foci relative to the image sensor at a second plurality of focus depths.

A confocal microscope system includes a light source configured to form a light beam, a scanning unit, and an objective lens. The scanning unit is in the form of a mechanically driven scanning unit with a controllable scanning trajectory, and is configured to direct the light beam through the scanning trajectory. The objective lens defines a pupil plane and a focal plane. The light beam is directed from the scanning unit to the objective lens. The confocal microscope system is configured for multi-color line-scanning confocal microscopy, and implements multi-color fluorescence imaging without laser excitation crosstalk.

An image capturing apparatus includes a stage on which an object is placed, an image capturer, and a controller that relatively moves the stage within a predetermined plane with respect to the image capturer to move a unit image capturing region, and simultaneously causes the image capturer to perform image capturing a plurality of times. The image capturer includes a light source, an objective lens having an optical axis in a direction intersecting the predetermined plane, a multifocal diffractor that generates a plurality of rays of diffracted light including a ray of diffracted light of 0 order from incident light entering through the objective lens, the plurality of rays of diffracted light having focusing positions being different from each other, and an image capturing member that receives each of the plurality of rays of diffracted light in each of a plurality of segment regions defined in a light receiving surface.